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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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IN SOUTH AFRICA WITH BULLER 




A 4.7 NAVAL GUN IN ACTION BEFORE COLENSO. 

From a sketch by a naval officer. 



IN SOUTH AFEICA 
WITH BULLER 

BY / 

GEORGE CLARKE MUSGRAVE 

AUTHOR OF "TO KUMASSI WITH SCOTT," "WEST AFRICAN 

FETISH," "THE CUBAN INSURRECTION," "UNDER 

THREE FLAGS IN CUBA" 



1r 



From Sketches by Rene' Bull, Maud, R. Colon Woodville 
and other War Artists 



BOSTON 
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1900 



^»^ r> ,-., •-* ■ 






21602 



Library of Conorees 

Two Copies Received 
JUL 18 1900 

Copyright entry 

SECOMP COPY. 

D»''wwfld to 

RDLR DIVISION, 

30^ /fee 




Copyright, 1900, 
By Little, Brown, and Company 



All rights reserved 






^ 1^ 



Saniberstta Press 
John "Wilson and Son, Cambeidge, U.S.A. 



Introduction 

It is too early, at this date, to record the history 
of the South African war. We live in an age, how- 
ever, when interest is ephemeral, and, unless one is 
content to write for reputation alone, a work must be 
published during the height of public interest to com- 
mand success. Thanks to electricity and newspaper 
enterprise, gifted writers now erect very readable 
books around the slender fabric of cable despatches. 
The author who has gathered his material at the risk 
of life and health, and at great expenditure of energy 
and money, returns to find his work anticipated by 
perhaps half a dozen books written by men who have 
never left the security of their own homes. It is a 
noteworthy fact that after the Spanish- American war, 
with perhaps one exception, the most successful books 
were penned by writers who never were in Cuba. 
Their works are a comedy of errors from Alpha to 
Omega, but they were issued when the popular feel- 
ing was inflamed with victory, and their accuracy was 
not questioned. Hence the need of rapid preparation. 

The dust and heat of South Africa do not inspire 
literary style, and chapters written on horseback, 

vii 



Introduction 

after sixteen hours in the saddle, lack the polish 
bestowed by writers reclining in comfort and clean 
linen. I had planned to write a personal story, after 
the prevailing fashion, but finding that peerless artists 
were preparing word pictures of the campaign, I 
concluded that a plain account of the war and its 
causes, based on personal observation and investiga- 
tion, would supply a want within my limitations. 

Thanks to prominent Afrikanders, who were ex- 
ceedingly anxious that I should present their side in 
the United States, their views and aspirations were 
freely brought to my notice. But familiarity with 
the Taal is apt to breed contempt, and though one 
cannot be blind to the machinations of capitalists and 
the blunders of imperialists and ultra loyalists, a 
careful review of facts will lead true Americans, as 
lovers of universal liberty, to realize that the only 
hope for South Africa lies in its federation under 
the almost republican constitution guaranteed by the 
British flag. Boer, or rather Taal, ideals are in 
antithesis to liberty and progress. They are founded 
on hatred of the Anglo Saxon, — a hatred based 
on past injustice but fanned to flame by intriguing 
foreigners controlling the Transvaal. 

The Orange Free State, founded as a republic by 
the British Foreign Office, and always on terms of 
cordiality with Downing Street, was in part induced 
to take up arms against a traditional friend by the 
possibilities of Dutch supremacy in South Africa, 

viii 



Introduction 

and the money provided by corrupt concessionaires in 
the Transvaal subverted the allegiance of thousands 
of the more ignorant Taal-speaking British subjects 
by the same idea. 

The misapprehension of British intentions not- 
withstanding, the Boer raid into the Colonies was 
unjustifiable aggression; it was, from first to last, a 
war of conquest and subjugation. The great sym- 
pathy that I had for the Boers vanished when I saw 
their ruthless devastation and method of extending 
their rule toward Cape Town. 

Patriots seeking to fight an army that may menace 
their existence do not war on women and children, 
or force citizens to take up arms against their own 
country, turning out on the bare veldt those who 
refuse, looting their homes and crops. I have seen 
much of revolution. For three years I was a sym- 
pathetic witness of the Cubans in their struggle for 
freedom from Spain's grip. I would that the ultra 
Afrikanders could take a lesson from those ignorant 
but self-sacrificing peasants. 

France, smarting under the British strictures of 
the Dreyfus case, has retaliated by a vindictive anti- 
British attitude, misnomered Boer sympathy. Her 
vituperations against the United States during the 
war with Spain prove the value of her perspicuity 
in national questions. Spain, angered by British 
sympathy for the United States during the war, has 
taken a very strong attitude in denouncing "the 

ix 



Introduction 

second manifestation of Anglo Saxon aggression." 
Holland, through racial and commercial ties, is in 
close sympathy with the Boers. Russia, ever anti- 
British, with her Siberian hell, her pitiless rule of 
dependencies, and black despotism over her own 
people, grandiloquently joins France in denoimcing 
England. Commercial hostility dominates Germany. 

The people of smaller States, not afflicted with 
the jealousies of the great Powers, take a dispas- 
sionate view of the contest. Strong parties in Switz- 
erland, Scandinavia, and Italy support the British 
side; Denmark is strongly anti-Boer; and the Greeks 
have warmly supported the Power which has more 
than once proved her true friend. The Balkan States 
are decidedly pro-British ; and since the return from 
the Transvaal of liberty-loving Hungarians, both 
Hungary and Servia have proffered contingents "to 
uphold the progress and equal rights of which the 
Transvaal Republic is the absolute negation." 

But it is to the United States that England has 
looked for justice. Certainly at this juncture sym- 
pathy for either side can do no practical good. Yet 
with common language and ideals and a common 
literature which in the past half -century has done 
much to mould the character of the two nations on 
similar lines, the United States and Great Britain — 
the two greatest factors in the world's development 
— should have a better understanding than at present 
exists. Many thoughtful Americans, animated by 



Introduction 

neither party nor racial prejudice, see nothing to- 
day in South Africa but the deliberate attempt of 
Rhodes and his cohorts to grab two tiny republics 
for their own exploitation. Some of them repre- 
sent all that is highest and best in the United 
States. It is beyond human power to alter their 
opinion, perhaps, but there are thousands of intelli- 
gent citizens who are halting mid diverse reports, 
anxious only for the truth. 

I would refer them, on the one hand, to the late 
Assistant Secretary of the Interior, who, in a few 
hours' visit to the Transvaal, discovered that the 
Boers were the " torch-bearers of the highest civili- 
zation," disproved the wrongs of the Uitlanders and 
the corruption of Krugerism, and returned to propa- 
gate the duty of the United States to cry a halt to 
the British forces, which had not then fought one 
battle outside their own territory, and were striving 
to repel the invasion of British colonies, to raise the 
siege of British cities, and to prevent further destruc- 
tion of the property of hard-working British colonists, 
who at least were innocent of capitalistic designs. 

On the other hand, converse with the true Ameri- 
can residents in South Africa. Ninety per cent, Re- 
publicans and Democrats, favor the British side. Can 
you find one American missionary in South Africa 
who is not loud in his denunciation of the Transvaal 
Government? Representatives of all classes are now 
in this country. Mr. John Hayes Hammond and 

xi 



Introduction 

Mr. MosentLal are American business men. Mr. 
Morton Carter is a student. Mr. John O'Brien of 
New York is a plain working-man. And there are 
Bishop Hartzell and Dr. Hertz, whose testimony 
is important. These men have tasted the evils of 
Krugerism. They speak in the light of experience, 
and from the standpoint of plain American citizens. 

President Kruger invoked as arbiter the God of 
Battles. We can look for no higher decision. At 
2 p. M., to-day, the British flag was hoisted over 
Pretoria. There are many indications that the de- 
voted but credulous burghers, who have fought so 
bravely and suffered so vainly for what they deemed 
right, will ere long relinquish their apanthropic ideas, 
and return to their homes to help build up a united 
South Africa. They have proved the fallacy of the 
exegesis of their leaders, whose greed and lust of 
territory has been one of the many causes of the 
inevitable war ; and it rests with British statesmen to 
form a tactful administration that alone can win their 
confidence and respect. 

GEORGE CLARKE MUSGRAVE. 

S. S. Ethiopia, June 5, 1900. 



Xll 



Contents 



Faob 

Introduction vii 

CHAPTER I. 

The Ultimatum from the Transvaal. — The Gen- 
esis OF THE Boer. — The Eeactive British Policy 
in South Africa. — Formation of the Boer Re- 
publics. — The Conventions Compared . . 1 

CHAPTER II. 

A NEW Era in Transvaal History. — The Uitland- 
ERS. — Formation of the ISTational Union. — The 
Raid and its Consequences. — The Bloemfontein 
Conference. — War 34 

CHAPTER III. 

Underlying Causes of the War. — Afrikanderism. 
— Plausible Arguments for an Afrikander Re- 
public OF South Africa. — Annual Expenditure 
FOR Arms from 1889. — The Shadows of War. — 
Opening of Hostilities 55 

CHAPTER IV. 

War. — Invasion of the Colonies. — The Battle of 
Dundee 77 

CHAPTER V. 

Elandslaagte. — TiNTWA Inyoni. — Yule's Retire- 
ment. — Pepworth Hill. — Ladysmith Invested . 102 
xiii 



Contents 

CHAPTER VI. 

Page 

Cape Town : Political and Military. — Landing 
OF THE Army. — Buller's Force. — Disposition 
OF THE Columns 143 

CHAPTER VII. 

Natal. — The Invasion South. — Armored Train 
Disaster. — Breaking Communications. — Willow 
Grange. — Ladysmith during Siege. — Formation 
OF Relieving Column. — Buller's Arrival. — 
Commissariat of the British Army. — Hospital 
Service. — Ready for Battle 171 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Repulses of Gatacre and Methuen. — The Battle 
OF CoLENSO. — Withdrawal of Buller. — Loss of 
Long's Artillery Division. — V. C.'s on the Field 214 

CHAPTER IX. 

Re-echoes of Colenso. — The Question of Artil- 
lery. — Lyddite. — Effect of Reverse in Eng- 
land. — Lord Roberts. — Christmas at the Front. 

— Effect of Victory on the Boers. — The As- 
sault of Ladysmith. — A Brave Defence and a 
Brave Attack. — Treachery. — Boer Positions 

ON THE TUGELA. — DIFFICULTIES OF SoUTH AfRICA 252 

CHAPTER X. 

A Question of Supply. — Traits of the American 
Officer. — Automobile Transport. — Dundon- 
ald's Dash to Springfield. — Crossing the Tu- 
gela. — Boer Bravery. — Disaster of Spion Kop. 

— Vaal Krantz 287 

xiv 



Contents 



CHAPTER XI. 

PAGE 

A Battle of Fourteen Days and Nights. — Cap- 
ture OF Pieter's. — Majuba Day. — Ladysmith 
Relieved. — Horrors of the Siege 320 



CHAPTER XII. 

An unexpected Conclusion. — Relief of Kimberley. 
— Capture of Cronje. — Collapse of the Boer 
Army. — Roberts' March on Pretoria. — Capture 
OF Bloemfontein. — Kroonstad and Lindley oc- 
cupied. — Invasion of the Transvaal. — The 
Sherman of 1900. — Capitulation of Pretoria. — 
The Cost of the War. — Conclusion .... 339 



XV 



Illustrations 



Page 

A 4. 7 naval gun in action before Colenso . . . Frontispiece 
From a sketch by a naval officer. 

Nature's defences of Northern Natal : a view of the country 

that has aided Boer tactics 34 

From a photograph. 

Map of the country within thirty miles of Ladysmith . . 55 

Uitlanders fleeing in cattle-trucks from Johannesburg . . 74 

From a photograph. 

Dragoon Guards carrying in wounded under fire .... 96 

Brawn by W. T. Maud. 

Dawn, after the battle : calling the roll 117 

Drawn by Max Cowper. 

Artillery covering White's withdrawal 135 

Drawn by R. Caton Woodville. 

" The Ladysmith Lyre " : facsimile of page 1 of the first 

issue 186 

The siege of Ladysmith : unfortunate non-combatants taking 

a breath of air 190 

Dr-awn by W. T. Maud. 

An affair of outposts 209 

Drawn by John Charlton from a sketch by W. T. Maud. 

V. C.'s on the field : trying to save the guns at Colenso . 242 

Drawn by Christopher Clark. 

The Devons' charge on Wagon Hill 279 

Drawn by W. T. Maud, 

xvii 



Illustrations 

Page 
Difficulties of transport : a convoy of provisions for BuUer's 

army crossing the Tiigela Valley 289 

Drawn by S. Begg. 

Dundonald's flying column crossing the Little Tugela at 

Springfield 294 

From a photograph. 

British ambulance corps crossing a spruit 297 

From a photograph. 

The thin line of Khaki on Spion Kop 305 

Drawn by R. Caton Woodville. 

Reinforcements scaling Spion Kop . . . . . » . . 307 

Drawn by Rene Bull. 

Krantz Kop 316 

Drawn by C. Davis from a photograph. 

The aftermath of Pieter's Hill 331 

Drawn by Charles Sheldon from a photograph. 

Relief at last : the first sight of the deliverers 335 

Drawn by Frank Dadd, R. I. 

British cavalry capture a portion of Cronje's convoj^ near 

Kimberley 342 

Drawn by Stanley L. Wood, from a sketch by an officer. 

Victor and vanquished : the meeting of Lord Roberts and 

General Cronje 345 

Drawn by F. de Haenen, from a sketch by a British officer. 



xvni 



In South Africa with Buller 



CHAPTER I 

The Ultimatum from the Transvaal. — The Genesis of 
THE Boer. — The Reactive British Policy in South 
Africa. — Formation of the Boer Republics. — The 
Conventions Compared. 

" And so your follies fight against yourself y An 
ultimatum from the South African Republic ! Even 
the champions of the Boer, at home and abroad, were 
astounded. We had been told that the God-fearing 
President in Pretoria was profoundly anxious to 
preserve peace. The English nation was warned 
that its political leaders, blinded by lust of em- 
pire, were forcing a war upon a people willing 
and anxious to grant all reasonable concessions that 
did not jeopardize their independence : if war came, 
the blood was to be on the heads of Mr. Chamber- 
lain and his supporters. And on October 9th, 
either through an erroneous but not altogether un- 
natural mistrust of British intentions, in which he 
divined a danger to his republic, or seeing an 
opportunity for cloaking the realization of the 
Afrikander dream of Dutch South Africa under an 
1 1 



In South Africa with Buller 

apparent menace to Transvaal Independence, Presi- 
dent Kruger despatched his peremptory note. 

The ultimatum, after denying the right of her 
Majesty's Government to intervene in the internal 
affairs of the South African republic, demanded : — 

1. That all differences should be settled by arbi- 
tration. 

2. That British troops should be removed from 
the frontiers. 

3. That all troops landed in South Africa since 
June 1st should be sent home. 

4. That no further troops should be landed. 

In the event of these demands not being agreed to 
within forty-eight hours, the South African republic 
would consider war declared. 

The ultimatum lacked the form of common diplo- 
matic decency. From a republic that owed its 
national existence to England, it was politically 
preposterous. But the natural indignation of the 
British people, roused by Kruger's demands and 
the blood spilt thereby, has blinded them to the fact 
that the Boers are less to blame than are the in- 
sensate follies and mistakes made by successive 
administrations. A glance at the history of South 
Africa gives significant food for contemplation, and 
British experience in the past should be of exceed- 
ing profit to future generations. 

From the Dutch &oer, a tiller, we have subverted 
"boor," a type of the rough, the uncouth; character- 

2 



The Genesis of the Boer 

istics accruing not from the soil alone, but ever the 
attribute of the South African Dutch. The genesis 
of the Boer is obscure; he is S2d generis. It is 
fallacious, if popular, to represent him as a trans- 
planted Hollander. He is relevant to South Africa 
alone; his prototype is non-existent. 

In 1486, Diaz, pursuing the brilliant but short- 
lived trend of Portugal as a factor in the world's 
development, discovered the Cape of Good Hope. 
Later, Da Gama's landing at Delagoa Bay led to Por- 
tugal's acquisition of a Pandora's Box, the Zambesi 
Valley: the Cape did not attract the colonial enter- 
prise so uselessly expended on the southeast. But 
when the Dutch were developing the East Indies, 
their ships watered in Table Bay ; the value of this 
half-way haven was perceived, and in 1652 the 
Dutch East India Company despatched an expedi- 
tion under Van Riebeck to form a permanent settle- 
ment at the Cape. Coolie slaves were introduced 
to cultivate, and a revictualling station for the Com- 
pany's ships soon flourished. 

The early Dutch settlers were chiefly of the rough- 
est class, uneducated and intolerant, — a veritable 
scum of rentiers, discharged soldiers, sailors, and 
adventurers, released by the Peace of Westphalia 
or tempted by the wandering spirit of the time. 
To avert discontent and to sustain the white popu- 
lation, orphan and foundling girls were shipped from 
the Holland asylums to wife the colony. These 

3 



In South Africa with Buller 

maidens, barely of marriageable age, were chiefly 
the offspring of Netherland soldiers and sailors 
killed in the wars ; many were illegitimate ; few had 
known the softening influences of home or parental 
affection. Reared under the Puritanical system of 
Dutch institutions, their knowledge of life was 
rudimentary. When they were landed in Africa, 
they were eagerly seized by the men, and in the 
possibilities and phases of their awakened sex, the 
evolution from asylum units to women, they were 
oblivious to the slavery and absence of sentiment 
in their union. From such parentage the Boer char- 
acteristics can be traced. The bigoted religion of 
the race to-day is the direct attribute of the al- 
most superstitious belief of the rigorously schooled 
mothers of the nation. 

The fathers of the embryonic race were not exclu- 
sively Dutch. In 1689, three hundred French Hugue- 
nots left the intolerance of their refuge in Holland, 
and proved a refining leaven to the African colony. 
A number of German Lutherans also settled in the 
country. By the laws of the Company's administra- 
tion, the faith and the tongue of the Huguenots and 
those of the Lutherans were proscribed, and all were 
compelled to worsliip in the Dutch Reformed Church. 
In a hundred years their identity had been aggres- 
sively absorbed. Thus a distinct race arose : Taal 
became the common language. With Dutch mothers 
who had no parental ties with Holland, with fathers 

4 



Dutch Cape Colony 

of cosmopolitan ancestry, the early generations had 
no emotional traditions: 0ns Zand — Our Land — 
South Africa. For them history opened in 1652 ; it 
centred at Stellenbosch, it was circummured by Table 
Bay and Table Mountain. 

The colony throve and expanded until in 1778 
the territory had extended eastward to the Great 
Fish Riyer. Here the Boers came into violent con- 
tact with the natives. The Company appointed land- 
drosts in each district and elaborated a system of 
defence, a commando being formed in each depart- 
ment by all burghers capable of bearing arms. The 
members elected their commandant and field-cor- 
nets, who were responsible to the Company for the 
mobilization of the force either for local or general 
defence. The struggles with the natives and re- 
sentment against service and taxation exacted by the 
Company without return developed a sturdy spirit of 
independence among the farmers along the frontier. 

Hundreds of burghers, incensed by the monopoly 
and maladministration of the corporation, trekked 
from the coast to join these quasi-independent com- 
munities in the interior. They moved with their 
herds across the vast grazing-grounds, their families, 
in tented wagons, sharing in the peregrinations. All 
trace of refinement and the proverbial Dutch clean- 
liness was lost in the Romany existence. Separate 
communities sprang up around each stock-farm, near 
relatives intermarried, and various factions, distinct 

5 



In South Africa with Buller 

as the clans of Scotland, were evolved. The com- 
mon enemy, the black, alone caused a general combi- 
nation. When incursions of the natives had been 
repelled and punished, the apanthropic Boers re- 
turned to their pastures, holding themselves aloof 
from their neighbors, save when a conventicle in 
some township afforded the event of the season, and 
gave the farmer opportunity to replenish his stock of 
cartridges and cooking-pots. In the pastoral life 
negatived educational or social possibilities and re- 
stricted the Boers to almost primeval simplicity, it 
also precluded the baneful essentials of civilization. 
The burghers clung to their religious belief with the 
credulous superstition of an Ashanti to his fetich, 
or a Tasso to the Porro rites. The Boer has retained 
his faith to an extent that would be commendable 
had his conscience dominated his life, instead of his 
life having formulated his conscience. 

In 1780 the residents of the coast districts sent 
delegates to Holland to demand a voice in the ad- 
ministration of the settlement and a modification of 
the Company's arbitrary rule. After a delay of 
several years the home government promulgated 
reforms, and the Company adopted a more concilia- 
tory policy; but in the interim disaffection had 
spread, and the issue of the new regime was the 
signal for a general revolt to end the thraldom of 
a corporation that ruled only for commercial advan- 
tage. The landdrosts were defied and maltreated ; 

6 



Boer Revolt against the Dutch 

the Company was powerless. Holland, then the 
Batavian Republic, was overrun by French revolu- 
tionists, and the Stadtholder of the Netherlands had 
taken refuge in England. He vested his supreme 
authority in a British expedition which landed at 
the Cape in 1795. 

The insurgent Boers, finding that they could now 
live as they pleased, sullenly acquiesced in this 
change of administration ; but seven years later the 
territory was restored to the Batavian Republic. The 
subsequent war led to its seizure, in 1806, by a British 
force which occupied the Cape for eight years, when 
the colony was formally ceded to the Crown in ex- 
change for territory in the Western Hemisphere. 

There were less than thirty thousand white inhab- 
itants at this time in Cape Colony, and about the 
same number of slaves. The Boers at first resented 
British rule ; but they were soon reconciled to the 
new regime, and affairs ran smoothly for several 
years. There was a steady influx of settlers from the 
United Kingdom, though Dutch remained the official 
language, and perfect harmony would have pre- 
vailed but for the religious intolerance of the Boers. 
Under British administration freedom of religious 
thought was secured. Roman Catholics were for 
the first time allowed to worship in the colony, but 
Irish emigrants were persecuted by bigots of the 
Dutch Church, and the priests met with much local 
opposition. Constant friction resulted. 

7 



In South Africa with BuUer 

Missionaries of all denominations raised a protest 
against the diabolical treatment of the blacks by 
the Boers. Their representations to the Colonial 
Office led to the enforcement of oppressive decrees 
for the protection of the natives, which caused 
further discontent. In 1815, a farmer, one Bezuiden- 
hout, refused to answer a charge of slave murder, 
and fired on the troops sent to fetch him. They 
replied with a volley which killed him. At his fu- 
neral four hundred Boer farmers swore revenge, and 
planned to capture the military post and lynch the 
officer. Lieutenant Rousseau, in reprisal. Their plans 
were betrayed to Colonel Cuyler, the British com- 
mandant, who rode out and begged the burghers to 
return home. A few accepted his advice, the re- 
mainder went to the hills and defied the military. 
After a severe fight they were dispersed, and five 
ringleaders were executed for high treason on March 
6, 1816, at Slaagter's Nek. From that day forth. 
South Africa became a divided camp, Boer versus 
Briton. 

The influx of Britishers continued to increase, and 
ten years later the Colonial Office concluded that 
English should be the official language of the colony. 
This change was drastic and impolitic, since it over- 
turned the whole system of local government. The 
Boers complained bitterly of the injustice which they 
to-day are fighting to uphold. Further feeling was 
engendered in 1826, when the missionaries again 



Abolition of Slavery 

protested against the Boer treatment of slaves, and 
an ordinance compelling slave-owners to record in 
writing every punishment they inflicted was en- 
forced, entailing a distinct hardship on the illiterate 
burghers. Only the tact of the governor, Sir Lowry 
Cole, prevented armed rising against British rule. 

Several humane colonists, desiring to rectify the 
evils of slavery, then formed the Philanthropic 
Society to buy up and free young female slaves. 
Since slave importation was forbidden, this reduc- 
tion of slave mothers would eventually have eradi- 
cated slavery. 

But the London Colonial Office, prompted by rabid 
abolitionists, decided, in 1833, to enforce general 
emancipation. Sir Benjamin D'Urban, after whom 
the port of Natal is named, was appointed governor 
of the colony to effect this, but the Colonial Office, 
lacking adequate conception of local conditions, took 
entire initiative. The colonists received X 1,200,000 
for slaves worth £3,000,000 at Government valuation. 
By the same blundering policy compensation was 
made in bank-notes redeemable only in London, and 
the colonists, British and Boer, were obliged to nego- 
tiate them in the colony at a very heavy discount. 
Fleeced by Shylocks in the exchange, the more 
ignorant farmers received one eighth of the market 
value of these slaves. But this hardship pressed 
as greatly on the grandfathers of the British loyal- 
ists of to-day as on the Boers. 

9 



In South Africa with Buller 

From Emancipation Day, December 1, 1834, the 
slaves were to serve four years of apprenticeship 
before becoming "free laborers." When the four 
years expired, they quietly relapsed into their pro- 
genital savagery and retired to their old hunting- 
grounds. 

With ruin threatening their enterprises, through 
dearth of labor, the colonists, mainly Boers, waged 
a terrible war of reprisals on the Kaffirs, and finally 
swept them over the frontier. The expeditions were 
encouraged by the governor, but after sixteen 
months' campaign these burghers, who had been 
given grounds to expect compensation for their ser- 
vices, found their action repudiated by the Colonial 
Secretary, Lord Glenelg, who stated that the depre- 
dations of the Kaffirs (who had murdered settlers 
and stolen cattle at every opportunity) "had been 
evoked by injustice and ill-treatment, and that orig- 
inal justice was on the side of the conquered blacks, 
not with the victors." 

The colonists were naturally incensed at this 
marked injustice, and foreseeing that the policy of 
a rabid humanity (as extreme, in antithesis, as the 
Boer inhumanity) would make any control of black 
labor impossible, a number of Dutch farmers decided 
to migrate into the wilderness, beyond the sphere of 
British influence. Ninety-eight burghers, under 
Trichardt and Rensburg, trekked northward to 
Delagoa Bay, ultimately perishing of fever and star- 

10 



The Great Trek 

vation. They were followed by a second party, com- 
posed of one hundred men, women, and children, 
including the three Krugers, which was organized in 
the Tarka and Colesberg districts, and settled imder 
Potgieter between the Vet and Walsch rivers. A 
band from Graaff Reinet joined the settlement a 
few weeks later. 

In 1837 Piet Retief organized further emigrant 
parties, which finally reached the vast grazing coun- 
try beyond the Draakensberg, around Port Natal. 
They found some English settlers already at the 
Port, but imperial control was nil; and having 
secured peace with the Zulus by heavy bribes, the 
Boers hoped to settle as an independent community. 
In January, 1838, Retief and seventy companions were 
invited to the kraal of Dingaan the Zulu chief, and 
brutally massacred. The Zulus then fell upon the 
unsuspecting settlers, and over a thousand men, 
women, and children were slaughtered before the 
Boers could rally for defence. The English com- 
munity at the post was exterminated. On December 
16, Dingaan led his hordes to attack the improvised 
fort of wagons defended by the four hundred Boers 
who had survived the raids. The beleaguered 
women and children aided in the defence, and by a 
sortie at night a mere handful of burghers routed 
twelve thousand Zulus, shooting down four thousand 
blacks as they retreated, hounded like sheep, to the 
limits of the territory. 

11 



In South Africa with. Buller 

Since all the English settlers had been killed, the 
voor-trekkers, still adjudged British subjects by the 
Crown, proclaimed themselves a republic in Natal. 
This necessitated some manifestation of imperial 
authority over the land that had been declared 
British in 1824, and in 1842 a force landed and 
occupied the Port. Enraged at the pursuit of a rule 
from which they had suffered so much to escape, 
the Boers attacked the tiny British garrison and 
would have massacred them to a man but for the 
timely arrival of reinforcements which defeated the 
burghers, whose Volksraad finally acknowledged 
British authority. 

The Colony of Natal was constituted in 1845, and 
while a large number of farmers remained to finally 
appreciate the security of imperial control, the wilder 
spirits trekked again over the Dragon Mountains, 
from the environment of civilization. They joined 
Potgieter's voor-trekkers, then swelled by hundreds 
of emigrants from the South, and spread over the 
vast territory between the Vaal and Limpopo. 

Though these nomad graziers had founded the 
semblance of a republic, they had settled in numer- 
ous communities, each dominated by family feud and 
personal jealousy. Torn by these petty dissensions 
and the fierce struggle for rivalry between Potgieter 
and Pretorius, the administration was without au- 
thority. The republic boasted a common Volksraad, 
vested in a semblance of Federal control, but in- 

12 



The Transvaal Republic Founded 

dividually the burghers set its laws at defiance, and 
there was not a vestige of government that could be 
recognized by the Foreign Office. By international 
law the Boers were still British subjects. 

The land between the Vaal and Cape Colony was 
a neutral territory peopled by the Griquas (Boer 
half-breeds) and Cape Dutch who wished to com- 
promise between the Crown and the heterogeneous 
republic beyond. Constant raids and cattle lifting 
between Boers, Griquas, and blacks became a serious 
menace to the peace of Cape Colony ; and to end the 
turbulence on the frontier, Great Britain, in 1848, 
annexed the " no man's land " between the Orange 
and Vaal rivers. 

The Boers beyond the Vaal, fearing their indepen- 
dence was menaced, promptly resented the extension 
of imperialism to their borders. They crossed the 
river and captured Bloemfontein, but were soon 
driven back by Sir Henry Smith. They then incited 
a rising among the Basutos and were again prepar- 
ing to invade the territory, when a British Commis- 
sion met the Boer leaders at the Sand River and 
guaranteed the farmers beyond the Vaal (Trans- 
vaal) the right of self-government, provided that no 
slavery was permitted. 

In 1853, despite the pleas and protests of the 
Orange River colonists. Lord Aberdeen's govern- 
ment, pressing a "Little England" policy, resolved 
to revoke the annexation of that territory. The in- 

13 



In South Africa with Buller 

habitants comprised elements vastly different from the 
Transvaal Boers, but they were officially relinquished 
by the Crown on February 24, 1854, with a grant of 
£50,000 as a sop for the independence they did not 
desire. Thus sprang into existence the Orange Free 
State. 

Despite the Queen's wish, the independence of 
the Transvaal and the creation of the Orange Free 
State — two monumental blunders for which a sea of 
blood, Boer and British, has flowed to-day — were 
consummated by the insensate folly of Downing 
Street. The extension of frontier in South Africa 
they declared worse than useless ; they overlooked 
the loss of prestige entailed by hauling down the 
British flag. But as they sowed, so they reaped. 

Where the policy of colonial officialdom in regard 
to South Africa would have ended, but for the advent 
of Sir George Grey as Governor of Cape Colony, it 
is impossible to say. Realizing the evils that had 
gone before, he patiently bestowed years of labor in 
laying the foundation for the Great South Africa of 
the near future. His wise policy instilled into the 
native mind a deep-rooted reverence for the Queen, 
and the loyalty of the natives to-day stands as one 
monument to Sir George's administration. 

Cape Colony flourished exceedingly. In 1866 the 
population had increased to 182,000; it doubled itself 
within the next twelve years. In 1872 complete 
self-government was instituted, and in 1882 the in- 

14 



The Discovery at Kimberly 

elusion of Dutch as an official language stimulated 
the political life of many thousands of Boers who 
had remained British subjects. Imperial control be- 
came practically nil, the people made their own laws 
under a free constitution, and had the care and 
protection of a powerful foster-mother. 

In 1869 the discovery of diamonds just beyond the 
Modder River attracted a rush of diggers and adven- 
turers to the district, which soon proved to be rich 
indeed. The Transvaal, a Griqua chief named 
Waterboer, and a native king, all laid claim to the 
coveted territory, and invited the Governor of Cape 
Colony to arbitrate. The Transvaal demand was 
impudent aggression; he awarded his decision to 
Waterboer, who placed the land under British pro- 
tection, to secure order among the turbulent spirits 
attracted by the mines. The Free State then came 
forward with a tolerable claim for the district, but 
since matters had been satisfactorily adjusted, the 
Colonial office paid the republic $450,000 for its 
claim, — an insignificant price for mines that have 
since produced millions, though the successful ex- 
ploitation by private capital was not then foreseen ; 
and through British intervention farmers on the land 
sold out at their own price, where otherwise a bloody 
struggle would have been precipitated by the con- 
tending parties. 

As an independent State, the Transvaal was lead- 
ing a checkered existence. Puny revolutions, less 

15 



In South Africa with Buller 

significant than the upheavals of South America, 
constantly arose j various factions were at daggers 
drawn, and the burghers were ever at variance with 
the quieter elements of the Free State, and twice 
menaced its independence. Pretorius and Schoe- 
man both posed as President of the Transvaal, each 
claiming control of the empty treasury. Civil war 
finally broke out, in which Kruger assumed com- 
mand of the Pretorius party. He bombarded and 
captured Potchefstroom, Schoeman escaping, how- 
ever, with Steyn and Preller. Kruger pursued them 
hotly to the Klip River, where the deposed leaders 
countermarched, re-entered Potchefstroom, and ral- 
lied their adherents, while Oom Paul and his com- 
mando followed the first scent. Strongly reinforced, 
Kruger again advanced on the town, and after close 
investment forced surrender. Schoeman, Steyn, and 
Preller were banished for life. Viljoen next raised 
a revolution, which was finally quelled; there was 
constant trouble with the independent communities 
of Utrecht and Lydenburg, and innumerable fights 
between smaller factions, notably on differences of 
dogma. 

The history of these so-called republics is not 
inspiring. In 1864 a unification of the Transvaal 
was arranged by Pretorius, who drew up a defi- 
nite constitution, which was adopted by the elected 
Volksraad of the peripatetic burghers. But pro- 
gression was a word unknown beyond the Vaal. 

16 



Turbulent Boer History 

Though slavery was unconstitutional, cattle stealing 
by the Kaffirs evoked terrible reprisals, and the 
various tribes were forced to labor in virtual slavery 
after their conquest. The Boers, though retaining 
their fanatical religious fervor, still set all law and 
order at defiance ; taxes they would not pay, and the 
republic was ever on the verge of bankruptcy. 

Their Bible told them that they were the Lord's 
chosen people; the Old Testament was their guide, 
the Pentateuch their mentor, especially the books 
of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, whose teachings are 
certainly questionable when applied to the nineteenth 
century. The sun moved round the earth, since 
Joshua told it to stand still; David was an early 
riser; thunder, the voice of God. The hygienic laws 
enforced in the camp of Israel they overlooked. The 
curse of Ham was their justification for monstrous 
treatment of the blacks; their cruelty gave zealous 
answer to what they deemed Divine command, since 
they held Biblical authority for occupying the land 
of the heathen, and meted to the natives as did Israel 
to the Canaanites. 

A typical instance of Boer ferocity toward the 
natives, was the massacre of the tribe of Makapan 
for cattle lifting. The burghers under Hermanius 
Potgieter, with whom was the young burgher Paulus 
Kruger, found that the entire tribe had taken refuge 
in a mammoth cave in the Waterberg district. This 
they speedily invested, building up the mouth save 
2 17 



In South Africa with Buller 

for one narrow entrance. Several attempts were 
made to suffocate the three thousand poor wretches 
shut within, but the cave was too vast for the accom- 
plishment of this, and for twenty-five days the siege 
continued. The famished blacks constantly strove to 
rush through the narrow entrance, only to be shot 
down by their ruthless captors, and finally dead si- 
lence reigned. Of the three thousand men, women, 
and children none survived. Nine hundred had 
been shot attempting to escape, the remainder had 
perished miserably of starvation. 

Punitive expeditions that led to the extermination 
of the Bakwena on the Mooi River and the Moseles, 
were hardly less sanguinary, and nothing in the his- 
tory of England's colonizing approaches the cruelty 
of these Boer reprisals, which were for extermina- 
tion, not subjugation, as were the former. 

Missionaries who attempted to teach the natives 
faced intense persecution, and the looting and mas- 
sacre of the Beersheba Mission Station by the Boers, 
under Landdrost Sauer of Smithfield, savors of Celes- 
tial fanaticism or of the bigotry of a Bloodj^ Mary. 
Robert Moffat, in his fifty-three years of missionary 
effort in Bechuanaland, suffered from unceasing hos- 
tility from these simple Christians, who argued that 
a native and a baboon had equal souls. Livingstone 
frequently expressed his horror of Boer inhumanity; 
many times men, women, and children of his people 
were shot down in cold blood, and others taken off 

18 



What Missionaries say of the Boers 

as prisoners of war, in obedience to the letter, and 
in evasion of the spirit, of the abolitionist decrees. 
Finally they burned his house, looted the Mission 
Settlement, and carried off two hundred children of 
his converts as "servants." John Mackenzie lived 
from 1860 to 1880 among the Boers, to whose ignor- 
ance and cruelty he has paid significant tribute. I 
could quote Dr. Nachtigal, Rev. E. Ludorf, M. Fre- 
doux, M. Creux, and M. Berthond of the Mission 
Romande, and many others to the same end. Their 
testimony shows that the Boer in the nineteenth 
century meted to the black such measures as did the 
Spaniard to the Guanches and Antillian aborigines 
in the sixteenth. 

In 1872 President Pretorius resigned to prevent 
deposition after the Keate award. The Rev. Mr. 
Burgers, a man of superior education and refinement, 
a Colonial College graduate, was elected in his stead. 
The burghers, influenced greatly by Kruger, now a 
prominent and ambitious political factor and com- 
mandant general of the State, became alarmed by the 
breadth of the religious views of their President. As 
head of the Church, he first proposed that hymns 
should be sung at the conventicle, — an unorthodox 
innovation savoring of the devil and the flesh; but 
when he stated in a sermon that Satan was an evil spirit 
and possessed neither horns nor tail as pictured in the 
old Dutch Bible, the credulous farmers called the 
elders together, and charges of infidelity were made. 

19 



In South Africa with Buller 

The intelligent provisions he had formulated for 
the improvement of the State were received with 
open distrust, the treasury was empty, and disorders 
broke out in every section. He had exhausted his 
private fortune in attempting to evolve order from 
chaos. Because his Executive called in £77,246 in 
notes which were practically worthless, and de- 
stroyed them publicly before Lys' store, the igno- 
rant burghers accused him of ruthless destruction of 
public money. 

A Zulu rising was then imminent, and Burgers, 
seeing that action by England would be provoked by 
the internal anarchy, begged the burghers to stand 
together to quell the natives, pay their taxes, and 
sustain the constitution. But the dispute between 
"little and big-endians " continued. A party favor- 
ing annexation to the Crown sprang up: the treas- 
ury contained 12 shillings ($3), and Kruger arose on 
the political horizon to head a bloodless revolution, 
that deposed Burgers and nominated him as Presi- 
dent. To save further disorder Burgers prepared 
to retire. In his valedictory address he warned the 
people to remember that British intervention would 
be their fault, for since the Powers had intervened 
to end the misrule in an empire like Turkey, the 
anarchy in a little and bankrupt republic could 
hardly be excused. 

Many factions opposed Kruger, the President soi- 
disant, whose nomination was neither contested nor 

20 



The Annexation of the Transvaal 

consummated. During this crisis the Zulus were 
preparing to swoop into the Transvaal on the south, 
Sikukuni and his hordes had repulsed the Boers on 
the northeast, and numerous other tribes saw an 
opportunity ripening to revenge the past. The Boers 
lacked ammunition ; there was no government to sup- 
ply them; the very existence of the republic was 
doomed. 

Alarmed at the state of the Transvaal, the Colo- 
nial Office appointed Sir Theophilus Shepstone as 
High Commissioner to inquire into existing condi- 
tions. Finding affairs hopelessly involved, the rising 
of the Zulus and Kaffirs general, and many inhabi- 
tants favoring Crown control, he used his prerogative 
and proclaimed the annexation of the republic to the 
Crown on April 12, 1877, as a measure necessary for 
the peace of South Africa. But for this action, arbi- 
trary as it was, the country must have been submerged 
by the blacks. The strong arm of England was wel- 
comed or tolerated by the burghers in the crisis; 
they would have remained content but for the delay 
in the institution of the autonomy promised them. 

The Colonial Office wished to realize a dream of 
the federation of South Africa. As in Cuba and 
the Philippines to-day, a military governor was ap- 
pointed in the interim. The Boers, who before had 
evaded taxation, now found their stock seized if they 
refused the dues. The taxes were very light; but 
martial control is too tactless for a people who desire 

21 



In South Africa with Buller 

to be free. A martinet used to implicit obedience 
cannot successfully control civilians. The Philip- 
pine revolt to-day and recent discontent in Cuba 
should teach the United States the lesson it took 
England so long to learn. 

With an inherent distrust of the Colonial Office, the 
Boers chafed under such control, and the delayed ful- 
filment of promises. They showed no disposition for 
patience until the native war should end, and the 
cost and trouble of the querimonious prot^g^ led 
Downing Street to act arbitrarily when tact might 
have saved the day. 

A number of republican leaders were retained as 
Crown officials, Kruger among them. After a reite- 
rated demand for an increased stipend had been re- 
fused, he resigned from office and became an active 
factor in fanning the discontent of the burghers into 
open disaffection. General Wolseley and Sir Bartle 
Frere had barely subdued the black menace, when 
he broached plans for a general uprising. Since- 
Kruger in his official capacity had been frequently 
consulted by these administrators with a view of 
ending military rule at an early date and instituting 
a liberal constitution under imperial control, it would 
seem that personal ambition was garbed neath the 
cloak of patriotism when he advocated revolt. He 
pointed out that since the savage hordes were now 
subdued, British control could no longer be brooked, 
for such control meant slavery to the Queen. In his 

22 



The Birth of Krugerism 

paraleipsical speeches made to the burghers in No- 
vember, 1880, at Paardekraal, the pending equality 
of the black and the white was the main plank of his 
revolutionary platform, — a claim that the Boers were 
to be reduced to the level of Kaffirs because England 
insisted that the common rights of man, simple justice, 
should be accorded to the black, — a contention that 
claims Lincoln for its martyr, and places the halo of 
liberty over the national cemeteries of 1861. 

In the two hundred and thirty-two provisions of 
the Transvaal constitution of to-day, the clause of 
ninth importance reads : " The people shall not per- 
mit any equality of colored persons and white inhabi- 
tants in the Church or State ; Article 31 reads : ^ 
" Bastards and colored persons shall not be admitted 
to State councils." 

Many burghers advocated a delay that would have 
defeated Kruger's machinations by the institution of 
liberal self-government in the interim. But he suc- 
cessfully played on the Boer superstition of Dingaan's 
Daag, December 16, when "the Lord delivered the 
Zulu hordes into the hands of his people." The as- 

1 Even native ministers and teachers in the Transvaal are forced 
to wear the numbered armlet of all black persons allowed in the 
tovnis ; and I refer you to the recent Presidential speeches to show 
you the Boer horror of England's efforts to franchise educated 
blacks at the Cape. The Constitution of the British Colonies says : 
" There shall not be in the eye of the law any distinction or dis- 
qualification founded on mere difference of color, origin, language, 
or creed, but the protection of the law shall be extended to all 
alike." 

23 



In South Africa with Buller 

sociation seemed auspicious. Since Fenian aid was 
promised and the entire British army consisted 
of " three thousand men, many of whom had been 
slain by the blacks," success, Kruger argued, was 
certain. When the anniversary dawned, the ex- 
tremists rose en masse, and the isolated British 
detachments scattered through the land were sur- 
prised and overcome. Pretoria was invested, but 
held out until the end, defended by regulars and the 
Volunteer Rifles, composed mainly of Dutch, mark 
you, some thousands of whom remained loyal. 

Reprehensible tactics were followed by the Boers 
from the first; an ammunition train of thirty-four 
wagons, returning from the war in Zululand, was 
surprised in a swamp. Colonel Anstruther, with 
two hundred ammunition servers, mainly band boys 
who are detached for this duty in a campaign, 
knew nothing of the intended rising. Officers and 
men were manning the heavy wagons through the 
mud, when a party of Boers appeared on the edge 
of the swamp, demanding surrender. The few troops 
that were armed sprang to the wagons for their rifles, 
when a murderous fire was opened on the detach- 
ment from the surrounding kopjes ; the British 
were shot down like dogs, a miserable remnant 
only being spared to be exhibited in triumph with 
the ammunition, as a mark of God's favor to the 
republican cause. 

At Potchefstroom three hundred men, women, and 
24 



A Sanguinary Revolution 

children, including the families of two missionaries, 
were shut up in a mud fortification twenty-five 
yards square. Cronje, whose tactics proved him 
subtle as lago and treacherous as Iscariot, refused 
to allow non-combatants to leave, hoping to facilitate 
surrender through starvation. With only rain water 
to drink, women and children sheltered by a ragged 
tarpaulin, exposed to frequent rifle fire, and unable 
to bury their dead beyond the narrow environs, 
the besieged under Colonel Winsloe held out for 
three months. Then a miserable remnant of sur- 
vivors surrendered through hunger to hear that a 
general armistice had been arranged two weeks be- 
fore, but the news had been withheld by the relent- 
less Cronje. 

The unnecessary cruelty had caused numerous 
deaths at the last stage. The story of that siege, 
as recounted to me by two survivors, negatives 
any claim that the Boers conducted the war with 
humanity. The shooting of helpless prisoners, the 
murder of Mr. Malcolm, a defenceless Scotchman, 
kicked to death on his own homestead, the execu- 
tion of the loyal burghers Woite and Linden, the 
shooting of the unarmed settlers Lindley and 
Green, Captain Elliot killed as he crossed the Vaal 
River after exchange, and Dr. Barbour shot by his 
Boer escort as he rode with them to tend the 
wounded prisoners on February 21, 1881, are a few 
of the many atrocities that T have verified from eye- 

25 



In South Africa with Buller 

witnesses. They would form a chapter of fact that 
the fictional Boers in " Jess " could not surpass. 

General Joubert assumed command of the insur- 
gents, and crossing the Natal frontier, he intrenched 
his burghers at Laing's Nek, over which the main 
road to the Transvaal crosses. Sir George CoUey, 
gathering what forces were in the colony, moved up 
to attack on January 28, 1881. The position, held 
by Boer sharpshooters, trained with the rifle from 
childhood, was impregnable, and though the com- 
posite British forces twice charged across the open 
and attempted to storm the hill, they were forced 
to fall back with frightful loss. Eleven days later 
CoUey was again repulsed by the sheltered defenders. 
The general then retired to Prospect Hill to await 
reinforcements, and as the Boers showed a disposi- 
tion to treat, he sent a message offering terms for 
an armistice, which were refused. 

On the night of February 26, with one hundred 
and fifty men, he ascended Majuba Hill to prevent 
the Boers' entrenching there, and prepared to menace 
their flank. The enemies at daybreak, seeing red- 
coats on the hill directly above them,, started to 
retreat. Had the vanguard been prepared for a 
frontal attack, the Boers would then have been 
defeated. The light firing of CoUey's slender force, 
however, revealed their true strength, and during 
a feinted frontal attack, a party of Boers moved 
round the base of the hill, and ascending by a 

26 



Magnanimity, or Surrender 

narrow gully, suddenly poured a deadly fire into 
the British rear. In vain Colley tried to rally his 
men; with most of his officers he fell before the 
shattering volleys, and the British were driven down 
the hill, being shot like rabbits as they retreated. 
Fifty survivors reached the valley, where they were 
captured by Boers below. The small number of 
wounded found on the field significantly corrobo- 
rated the charge of survivors that the triumphant 
enemy, emulating the French Turcos^ had shot the 
helpless men as they lay. 

Mr. Gladstone was not in favor of holding the 
Transvaal; he believed such possessions useless 
encumbrances. Realizing that the revolt had been 
prompted by past injustice and misunderstanding, 
and foreseeing the expenditure of blood and treasure 
that would be necessary to subdue the Boers, he 
stayed a further advance of troops. Despite the 
outcry of the army, who demanded that the Boers 
first be forced to respect British authority, an armis- 
tice was declared, and after a formal convention at 
Pretoria, absolute self-government was arranged for 
the Transvaal, under the direct suzerainty of the 
Queen. 

Under the terms of the convention the Boers 
were given full liberty in their internal affairs, 
slavery was proscribed, and the old Grondwet was 
retained. External diplomatic relations and all 
treaties with the native chiefs were controlled by 

27 



In South Africa with Buller 

the Foreign Office. Protection of the blacks was 
assured, extension of frontier being prohibited, to 
save surrounding tribes from aggression. Property 
and the trade rights of foreigners and natives, and 
absolute freedom of religion, were stipulated. 

The triumvirate ruled the republic for a few 
months ; then General Kruger was elected President. 
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger possesses a com- 
plex character. For bravery and endurance he had 
no equal in South Africa ; schooled in the veldt, he 
retains all the rugged failings and virtues of the 
Boers, surmounted by a stupendous ambition for him- 
self and his country. From the Kaffir he had learned 
" slimy^^ which, combined with the Pythagorean pre- 
cept of silence and a happy pauciloquence, served 
him as diplomacy, and frequently with triumph. 
With the educational advantages of a more civilized 
environment he would have proved even a greater 
and probably a worse man. "He has the blended 
instincts of a Gladstone and a swineherd," said one 
who knows him well. A born leader of men, his 
aggressive personality made him an ideal President 
for the early Boer republic. Destiny placed him 
beyond his ken ; as an old bottle for new wine, the 
limitations of his administration abjectly failed before 
the progressive commercialism and the liberality of 
thought and deed that dominates the world to-day. 

His first act in the Transvaal was to replace the 
illiterate burghers filling public offices by educated 

28 



The Second Convention 

Hollanders. He appointed an East Indian Dutch- 
man, Dr. Leyds, State Attorney, and, despite the 
discontent caused thereby, numerous Hollanders were 
imported to manage all affairs of state. Unrestrained 
by love of country, untrained in diplomacy, and 
engrossed in the acquisition of wealth and power, 
this alien administration of the republic has proved 
its undoing. 

In 1883 President Kruger, with Messrs. Smit and 
Du Toit, journeyed to London to secure an ameliora- 
tion of the terms of the '81 convention. The Foreign 
Office was heartily tired of the troubles and losses 
entailed by the republic of herders, and Lord Derby 
loosely assented to a revised treaty. The title of 
British Resident was changed to Consul General, 
complete internal independence was guaranteed. 
The restrictive clauses by which the republic could 
conclude no treaty with any State or nation but the 
Free State, nor with any native State save with the 
approval of the Queen, were retained. 

Kruger returned home to announce that the Trans- 
vaal " demands " had been met, and as suzerainty no 
longer existed, the republic was an independent 
State. But the liberty that a government would 
grant to a pastoral community in a barren country, 
of no attractions, and the license that they could 
permit when thousands of their own subjects had 
been drawn to settle in the country, are divergent 
propositions. 

29 



In South Africa with Buller 

Tlie crux of the present imbroglio rests on tlie 
omission of the word suzerainty in the second con- 
vention. It is contended that the preamble of the 
first convention which contained the suzerainty- 
clause was not revoked by the modification of the 
articles arranged by the second. The obscurity of 
such inference is obvious from a glance at the second 
document, which reads : " Her Majesty has heen 
pleased to direct . . . that the following Articles of 
a new Convention . . . shall he substituted for the 
Articles emhodied in the Convention of 1881. But since 
the Articles only are specified, and the preamble of 
the first Convention — " complete self government sub- 
ject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty^ her heirs, and 
successors will be accorded to the inhabitants of the 
Transvaal territory " — is the only charter of in- 
dependence that the Transvaal can claim, it may 
be argued that the refutal of the suzerainty must 
also be a refutal of the status of the South African 
republic. 

Despite the explicit limitations of frontier in the 
second convention, President Kruger, in Punic faith, 
unofficially encouraged aggression, and when Boer 
filibusters had founded the republics of Goshen and 
Stelland in territory under British protectorate, he 
coolly annexed them to the Transvaal. The incon- 
sistent policy of successive ministries, conservative 
and liberal, expansionist and contractionist, en- 
couraged him in his double dealing. His unofficial 

30 



Boer Aggression Thwarted 

trekking parties also moved north and east. The in- 
cursions into Swaziland he stimulated by subsidy, 
with the hope of extending the Transvaal to the 
coast, and his official map was printed with Swazi- 
land and Matibililand in the Transvaal yellow. But 
this expansion, in direct violation of his pledges, was ■ 
abruptly checked. 

An expedition under Sir Charles Warren moved 
into Bechuanaland at the long-standing request for 
protection by Khama, chief of the Bamangwato and 
the living refutal of the charge that no African can 
lead a consistent Christian life mid the scenes of 
progenital savagery. The Boers sullenly withdrew 
over the border, without fighting. The grab of 
Swaziland, however, was not prevented, though by 
subsequent treaties the territory on the coast between 
Natal and Portuguese East Africa became British 
dominion, and Kruger's natural desire of a port and a 
navy for his republic was thwarted. His northward 
trend was checked by his arch-enemy, Mr. Rhodes, 
who obtained a royal charter for his British South 
African Company to administer and trade in Mati- 
bililand and Mashonaland, British protectorates. 

For trade and the flag, might is deemed right, and 
the " white man's burden " is, at the beginning at least, 
a burden on the black or brown man, though event- 
ually for his good. But those good people who have 
been troubled by the vivid pictures of Trooper Hal- 
kett may rest assured that Miss Schreiner has allowed 

31 



In South Africa witH Buller 

a political animosity by no means shared by lier own 
relatives, to distend her naturally vivid imagination 
far into the realms of fiction. The Company's war 
was neither better nor worse than the dozen native 
wars of recent years. Fierce tribes who prey on their 
more innocent neighbors need strict policing to 
make them amenable to humanity's law. Officers 
of the calibre of Baden-Powell, over whom the savage 
levies of West Africa wept like children, when part- 
ing, are not transformed into wild beasts in South 
Africa. The British " Tommies " who stinted them- 
selves to feed Prempeh's starving hags and who 
have shared bed and supper with wounded Boers do 
not change their hearts by a change of coats ; 
Queen's uniform or Company's uniform covers the 
same men. 

To know the American officer, to know the British 
officer, enables one to give the lie direct to stories of 
their barbarity, whether in the Philippines or in Africa. 
I have had unusual opportunities of seeing savagery 
and cannibalism uprooted by the British. In every 
instance it has been effected without harshness, 
oppression, or undue interference. Slavery, fetich 
ordeals, human sacrifice, and wanton killing are rigor- 
ously suppressed. Missionaries and traders are 
assured protection, and both are great civilizing 
factors ; but after expenditure of blood and money, 
amid vapid talk of covetous and aggressive England, 
restrictions are thrown off, every nation has equal 

32 



Colonizing Traits of the British 

trade rights, and in three distinct cases that I per- 
sonally witnessed, where the British tax-payer paid 
the piper, the commercial brightness of Americans 
enabled them to secure the most valuable concessions, 
and obtain a monopoly of the trade without a single 
restriction. British colonizing is a benefit not only 
to the colony, but to the civilized world. 



33 



CHAPTER II 

A NEW Era in Transvaal History. — The TJitlanders. 
— Formation of the National Union. — The Raid 
AND ITS Consequences. — The Bloemfontein Con- 
ference. — War. 

When in England in '83, President Kruger and his 
delegates ran short of funds. A company had just 
been formed in London to prospect for gold in the 
Witwatersrand. The promoters of the Lisbon-Berlyn 
Goldfields Ltd. supplied the Boers with cash, in re- 
turn for promised concessions, and, ere they departed, 
approached them to determine the status of their 
miners should their auriferous prognostications be 
substantiated. The delegation secretary, Mr. Ewald 
Esselen, replied that "the President was surprised, 
pained, and made indignant by the inquiry, since at 
the convention the rights of strangers were clearly 
stipulated. The South African republic desired the 
fullest development of its mineral resources, and it 
would extend every inducement to attain that end." 

The Rand proved rich in gold : from the early 
output at Langlaagte vast farms yielded reefs of 
untold wealth. The El Dorado attracted thousands 
of foreigners and millions of capital to develop the 
mines that the Boers had neither the intelligence nor 

34 



Boer Corruption Proved 

the material to work themselves. Kruger and his 
supporters actively preached against the influence of 
the godless capitalists in their midst, but they sold 
their land with alacrity to prospectors, at exorbitant 
figures, and by imposts and concessions strove to 
divert a considerable portion of filthy lucre to their 
own pockets. 

Mr. Christian Joubert, Minister of Mines, would 
accept no proposals for exploitation, without a small 
donation, and when matters had duly proceeded he 
intimated that a hitch in Pretoria might be removed 
by a further " little present." Five thousand dollars 
in the two instalments usually cut the Gordian knot. 
The books of most companies projecting on the Rand 
show varying sums paid at the outset for the impera- 
tive bribery of these officials. Lieutenant Eloff, the 
President's son-in-law, and all Kruger's pastoral 
relatives became smart concessionnaires, and official 
corruption, once impossible with the simple burghers, 
flourished among other curses of the gold glut. 

For proof of corruption in the Transvaal I would 
refer the interested reader to the case now pending in 
the Tribunal Correctional of Belgium. The case has 
been in the courts since 1895, and Dr. Leyds probably 
wishes he had compromised to avoid the exposure of 
his colleagues at this juncture. Baron Oppenheim, 
the Parisian banker, MM. Braconier, Louis Frdres, 
Warnant, and Terwagne, a syndicate of prominent 
Franco-Belgian financiers, are ranged against the 

35 



In South Africa with Buller 

Transvaal Government, fighting the question of the 
cost of the Koomati Poort-Selati Railroad. 

Among the expenditures to be proved in court are 
large sums of money, gifts of carriages, costly jewels, 
etc., given to M. F. L. Eloff, the President's son- 
in-law and private secretary. The late M. N. J. 
Smit, one time Vice-President, M. E. Bok, Secretary 
to the Executive, M. C. Van Boeschoten, Secretary 
of the Volksraad, M. B, H. Klopper, President of the 
High Chamber, and twenty-two out of twenty-four 
members, besides the Vice-President, — Du Plessis, 
De Beer, Burger, Bezuidenhuit, Van der Merwe 
Stoop, Wolmarans (the vaunted Franklin of the 
Transvaal, now in the United States seeking inter- 
vention), Nalan, Prinsloo, Spies, Mar^, Van Harpen, 
Steenkamp, Lombard, Grobler, De la Ray,Taljaard,Van 
Zuyl, Botha, Beukes, Van Staaden, and Grey ling, — 
these are the bribe takers who wring their hands over a 
" War of Capital against Liberty," and for whom the 
brave if ignorant burghers are pouring out their blood 
to-day. 

By Article Fourteen of the last convention the 
British Government clearly stipulated the civil and 
commercial rights of all foreigners. Any one with 
intelligent knowledge of the Transvaal will admit 
that the republic has gone far outside its agree- 
ment. The of&cial reports will show you the promise 
of equal burgher rights made by Mr. Kruger to Sir 
Evelyn Wood and Sir Hercules Robinson. In 1882 

36 



Apanthropy of the Boer 

a foreigner could obtain full franchise rights after 
five years' residence. In 1886 the influx of thousands 
of strangers attracted by the gold rush led the Volks- 
raad to restrict the franchise, and in 1890 the term of 
residence was raised to fifteen years, with additional 
manipulative clauses by which the electoral right 
could be controlled. By a further amendment, four 
years later, full burgher rights were made practically 
impossible for the settlers, who now paid ninety-five 
per cent of the Transvaal revenues, owned nine- 
tenths of the valuation of property, but had no voice 
in disbursement or administration. 

The only excuse for the ruling of a majority by the 
votes of a minority in a so-called republic, from the 
Boer standpoint, was their natural fear that the for- 
eign element would eventually control, and the an- 
tipathy felt by the ignorant for those enjoying the 
initiative of greater intellectuality. The Boer is a 
born apanthrope, and an aversion to the trammels of 
advance and commerce doubtlessly actuated the more 
ignorant farmers to support measures that would re- 
strict the invasion of their domain. The Hollander 
officials were moved by a different motive. 

Careful inquiry into the Uitlander grievances 
shows that the franchise question was mooted only 
with the hope of securing an amelioration of their 
conditions by legislation. Early leaders in the move- 
ment were neither financiers nor men of wealth, but 
the engineers and artisans upon whom the maladmin- 

37 



In South Africa with Buller 

istration and taxation weighed heavily. Until I 
visited South Africa, I sympathized with the Boer 
desire to keep the government in their own hands; 
superficial investigation there revealed such a mass 
of corruption in the Kruger Cabinet, that all trace 
of sympathy vanished. 

The iniquitous native-liquor traffic of the Transvaal 
is controlled by concessionnaires of Kruger; the 
traffickers did not hesitate to murder that gentle 
English lady, Mrs. Appleby, because, in spite of 
warnings, her missionary husband continued to 
direct a crusade against their abominations that 
demoralize the blacks, and which are prohibited in 
the British colonies. There is little doubt that the 
instigators of that fiendish crime are known to the 
sycophant police. The exclusive concession given 
the Netherlands Railway Company proves restrictive 
to commerce; the service is execrable, its charges 
exorbitant. The Lippert Dynamite concession places 
this explosive, so necessary for mining, in the hands 
of a monopoly that supplies an inferior quality at 
extravagant rates. Besides the Hatherley Distillery, 
concessions controlling the manufacture of articles, 
from powder and cement to the smallest necessaries 
of life, are held by Kruger's relatives or given as 
plums to political supporters. 

$1,250,000 per annum is ostensibly expended 
from the excessive taxation for popular education. 
Yet the English language is proscribed in the schools, 

38 



From Penury to Affluence 

whicli are mainly sustained by English-speaking 
people and attended by their children. The treasury 
of the Transvaal held but 12 shillings (13.00) in 
1877 ; by the industry and intelligence of the Uit- 
landers the revenue amounted to £3,983,560 in 1898. 
In return they are denied common civil rights by the 
open policy of Kruger, who follows with striking- 
minuteness the restrictive methods of Tacon in Cuba, 
— the control by a favored minority. 

The increasing burdens of taxation, the proscrip- 
tions of the English tongue, the lack of municipal 
improvements, sanitation, and police protection led 
the masses of hard-working immigrants of the Rand, 
who had turned Johannesburg from a dirty village 
into a well-built city, to form the National Union in 
1892, to gain reforms. Thirty-eight thousand non- 
enfranchised residents, professional men, traders, 
clerks, engineers, and artisans, of all nationalities, 
chiefly British subjects and Americans, drew up a 
petition, begging for relief from their grievances. 
The Volksraad rejected it with scorn. 

The capitalists and mine-owners, conjured into a 
bogie by Boer and pro-Boer, fearing agitation would 
affect the market, discountenanced the reform move- 
ment, and many of the leaders, including Mr. Phillips, 
were discharged from British companies for identify- 
ing themselves with the Union. "Business must 
stand before sentiment," was the plea of the financial 
magnates. Persons who should know better, urge to 

39 



In South Africa with Buller 

this day that the war is the fault of these godless 
capitalists, — the men who did most to avert it in the 
early stages of the trouble. 

In 1895 a second petition was presented to Kruger 
in person, asking for : Representative constitution 

— Equitable franchise laws — Equality of the Dutch 
and English languages as in the British Colonies — 
Responsibility to the Legislature of the heads of all 
departments — Independence of the Courts of Justice 

— Liberal educational laws — Efficient Civil Service 

— Free trade in the products of the republic (no- 
tably food stuffs). The President invited the reform 
leaders to call upon him, and after listening with 
impatience to their grievances, he burst forth, " Go ! 
Tell your people I will give them nothing, never 
alter my policy ! Go, and let the storm burst ! " A 
bitter cry against the apathy of the financiers now 
was raised : the mine-owners and capitalists were 
forced to declare themselves ; and with slight hesita- 
tion they took sides with their employees the re- 
formers. This is the capitalist bogie. 

Finding pacific representation futile, denied the 
right of public meeting, and the public use of the 
English tongue, free press and free speech proscribed, 
the Uitlanders now resolved to gain their ends by a 
coup de main. Arms were secretly distributed ; 
Johannesburg was to be seized by a general rising, 
Pretoria possibly captured, and a call made for a ple- 
biscite of the inhabitants of the Transvaal to found 

40 



Taxation Without Representation 

a popular government. The independence of the 
republic was not menaced ; the movement was to 
forcibly secure, first municipal reforms, then equal 
rights. Opposition to taxation without representa- 
tion and to oppressive tea trusts was the foundation 
of American Independence. Opposition to taxation 
without representation and to oppressive monopolies 
provoked the Uitlanders to contemplate a rising. 
Had it succeeded, the leader of the movement would 
have been the true Washington of the South African 
republics. 

The fiasco of the Jameson raid played directly into 
Kruger's hands. It is charged, but without proof, 
that the Boer President was privy to the entire move- 
ment, and precipitated the raid for his own ends. 
That he knew of the projected rising is certain. 
With the Doctor and his raiders as hostages, the 
Boers were able to secure the entire disarmament of 
the Uitlanders, reap a rich harvest in fines, and pose 
before the world as a monument of magnanimity and 
Christian resignation. 

I travelled a thousand miles with many of the 
raiders en route to England, and found that officers 
and men held the impression that the Uitlander ris- 
ing had taken place, and that they were riding to 
save women and children from the horrors of civil 
strife. The mystery of the raid will never be 
known ; Mr. Rhodes and Dr. Jameson for their own 
ends had pledged their support to the Reform 

41 



In South Africa with Buller 

League, but the border was crossed under an entire 
misapprehension. 

This abortive attempt to gain reform strengthened 
the Boer position and tied the hands of the Colonial 
Office. A storm of foreign criticism was stirred up, 
but it was surprising to find so great condemnation 
of the reform movement by Americans, who are 
justly proud of their forefathers, " who adjudged 
might less than right when a king laid a pitiful tax 
on them," and who fought the military despotism of 
Santa Ana for the rights of their own Uitlanders in 
Texas, adding another star to the flag thereby. 

Despite the raid it was impossible that the con- 
ditions in the Transvaal could long remain with- 
out imperial interference. Mr. Gladstone's reason 
for practical surrender to rebels in '81 was to free 
ourselves from the 'predicament of coercing the free 
subjects of a republic to accept a citizenship which 
theij decline and refuse. That this oligarchy, mis- 
nomered republic, should eventually control, by a 
sixteenth-century civilization, a community which 
in 1890 numbered 80,000, a large proportion British 
subjects, was an intolerable condition. 

The story of the conflagration you know. You 
have heard the thunderings of wiseacres who 
seemingly are endowed with a prescience that con- 
stitutes them greater authorities than those di- 
rectly concerned on either side. Opinions and 
facts are frequently in antithesis, and we are all 

42 



Public Meeting Proscribed 

apt to mistake the one for the other. The posses- 
sion of a facile pen does not constitute one the 
supreme arbiter of a national question. He who 
reads the Boer Green-Book and the British Blue- 
Books and the statements of those intimately con- 
cerned in the imbroglio, will form a deduction 
that ridicules the effusions that have fogged the 
public mind with extreme opinions pro-Boer and 
pro-British. 

On January 14, 1899, a mass meeting of Uit- 
landers for the discussion of municipal evils was 
roughly dispersed by a commando of armed Boers, 
several Englishmen and at least ten Americans be- 
ing severely beaten, and Uitlander women grossly 
insulted. Thenceforth, despite the spies of Kru- 
ger's " reptile " fmid, secret gatherings were held 
throughout the Rand, and the Uitlanders in their 
thousands formulated a petition to Queen Vic- 
toria, praying for relief from their conditions in the 
Transvaal. 

Such an appeal from citizens of the United 
States 9r subjects of any representative govern- 
ment could not be ignored. Read the list of sig- 
natories, — they are not capitalists. Ask them 
about their grievances. Converse with American 
Uitlanders, who at least cannot be charged with 
desiring the overthrow of a republic for a mon- 
archy. Here also are Danes, and some intelligent 
Cape Dutch, too. These are not the men to in- 

43 



In South Africa with Buller 

cite war for a phantasm or to agitate, at the risk of 
their positions, against political evils short of op- 
pression; neither are they the type myrmidon to 
capitalists and self-seeking promoters. To those 
40,000 men, war meant ruin, loss of property, and 
cessation of industry. Would they seek this without 
good and sufficient cause? Buttonhole the intelli- 
gent Irishman from the Rand. He hates England 
and the English, but he speaks with fine scorn of 
the Kruger government, and would sooner enlist 
as a Queen's " Tommy " than be colonel of Blake's 
sans-culottic brigade. 

I have talked with all these; there are men 
among them who, for the sake of political prin- 
ciple, have lost the entire proceeds of ten years' 
toil; their wives and children are facing abject 
poverty by their side. These earnest fellows will 
soon convince you of the justice of the Uitlander 
cause. It will not blind you to the fact that 
capitalists and imperialists have attempted to 
make Uitlander necessity their opportunity — the 
raid tells you that.^ But a wise President or a 
true republic would have disarmed their action 
by liberal concession. The popular voice in the 
South African colonies and at home would have 
averted aggression. Dr. Leyds and others now 

1 Mr. Bryce, writing of the raid, says : " So many non-legal things 
hare been done in a high-handed way, and so many raids into native 
territory made by the Boers themselves, that the respect for legal- 
ity .. . was imperfectly developed " (among the plotting Uitlanders). 

44 



Uitlanders who Disclaim Oppression 

contend that the Uitlanders did not desire fran- 
chise, and that "the bulk were on the side of the 
republic." It is rather remarkable, then, that Mr. 
Kruger did not strengthen his hands by a liberal 
franchise, and thus thwart the intervention that 
he claims was "prompted by the greed of a gang 
of capitalists." 

There were Uitlanders who would disclaim op- 
pression: some have entered the Boer service un- 
der the terms of full and immediate naturalization 
and high bounty, others have flocked to the col- 
onies to live on public charity and wring their 
hands over the " cruel " war. They are Jew ped- 
dlers or Hungarians, Huns, Scandinavians, Bavarians, 
— mine-workers, — the submerged tenth in their 
own countries. They could earn wages on the 
Rand beyond their dreams of avarice. Johannes- 
burg was their Manoa, and little they recked 
municipal restrictions, foul water, or bad drains. 
An American gentlemen from Pretoria told me 
that ninety per cent of the Uitlanders who en- 
tered the Boer service had not the money to leave 
the country. 

Sir Alfred Milner, whose parentage and knowledge 
of Dutch so eminently fitted him for the difficult post 
he was called upon to fill, mixed for weeks with the 
ultra Dutch party. The loyalists frowned, but he 
was learning the other side before action. Then he 
supplemented the Uitlanders' petition with a despatch 

45 



In South Africa with Buller 

on May 4, 1899, that revealed such a crisis in South 
African affairs that his recall would have been cer- 
tain if the message had not been borne out by facts. 

The assertion that the British Government coveted 
the possession of the Transvaal is negatived by the 
utterances of prominent men who were desirous 
above all things to maintain peace. Mr. Chamber- 
lain, charged with inciting the raid, and intent on 
war, said in his reply to Sir Ashmead Bartlett; "A 
war in South Africa would be the most serious that 
could be waged. It would be in the nature of a civil 
war. To go to war with President Kruger in order 
to force upon him the reforms . . . would be a 
course of action as immoral as it is unwise." A few 
weeks later he stated to the House that it was " im- 
possible to expect the President to adopt a wholesale 
franchise that would proceed to his own extinction." 
These are not the utterances of a man anxious to pro- 
voke war. 

When the Bloemfontein Conference was arranged 
Sir Alfred Milner presented Mr. Chamberlain's de- 
spatch to President Kruger. As we read the views 
of his political opponents and of antagonistic busy- 
bodies, the Colonial Secretary's diplomacy assumes 
an intricacy as confusing as it is incorrect. In the 
official reports, we find involved demands, and replies 
that were received with a suspicion which was not 
unnatural, since the aged President's pen was guided 
by the hard-working but narrow-minded Dr. Reitz, 

46 



A Fair Franchise Demanded 

aided by tlie two inexperienced youthful hotheads, 
Smuts, State Attorney, and Grobler, the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs. But in the main the British claims 
were not exorbitant. 

Realizing that by dealing with specific grievances, 
the concatenation of the Judiciary and Volksraad, the 
corruption and bribery of the civil service, and mat- 
ters relative to municipal and political rights (all of 
which constituted the internal policy of the Trans- 
vaal), difficulties must arise, the High Commissioner 
was instructed to suggest that a simplification of the 
franchise would constitute a remedy and prove a 
palladium for the Uitlanders. Overwhelming enfran- 
chisement was not asked, but the extension of suf- 
frage, that the Uitlanders, who outnumbered the 
Boers, might return representatives for one-fourth of 
the first Volksraad, and thus have an opportunity to 
air and obtain legislation of their grievances. 

Dr. Leyds has since stated that President Kruger 
never intended to grant any franchise privileges ; cer- 
tainly the concessions he made were coupled with 
irrelevant conditions that necessarily aroused the 
suspicion of crafty British diplomats. Possibly Mr. 
Chamberlain should have accepted every assurance of 
Mr. Kruger in absolute good faith, and equally, then, 
the Boer President should have placed implicit trust 
in the motives of the Colonial Secretary. But simple 
faith, if better than Norman blood, is beyond the ken 
of diplomacy. War was directly due to the recipro- 

47 



In South Africa with Buller 

cal distrust of the belligerent parties — a distrust 
greatly exaggerated on both sides. 

It is not for me to defend the diplomacy of Mr. 
Chamberlain. But the official despatches will show 
you that the erraticalness of his despatches did not 
exceed the incontiguity of the Transvaal replies. 
President Kruger's obdurate insistence on the non- 
retroactive clause in his first franchise concession, so 
that a full franchise period must elapse before reform 
would be effected, manifested the spirit dominating 
his negotiations. Coupled with the final concession 
by the Transvaal were three conditions, two of which 
Mr. Chamberlain accepted ; the third was of a char-^ 
acter that no Power would entertain in its dealings 
with another. The vague wording of the British 
reply would admit doubts as to the character of the 
" further note " to be broached, but had the " war- 
hating" President shown either patience or forbear- 
ance he would have found that the new conditions 
were practically the acceptance of nine-tenths of his 
terms, with reservations that might have been ami- 
cably arranged. 

The legal adviser of the Transvaal, Mr. Farrellj^, 
whose interpretation of international law guided the 
President, strongly disapproved of the Boer attitude 
from the outset. In the official memorandum that he 
prepared on the conference he protested against the 
procedure that " unjustifiably risks the lives and for- 
tunes of the burghers ; " and he desired to place on 

48 



Alarm in the Colonies 

record " my strong dissent from the tone and temper 
of our negotiations with the British government. If 
it is the steadfast intention of the Republic to precip- 
itate war, a more direct course could not have been 
undertaken." 

With the Transvaal an armed camp on the unpro- 
tected borders of a British colony, colonists lived in 
constant and not unwarrantable dread of Boer ag- 
gression. On May 25th the Natal Legislature asked 
the imperial government for protective measures but 
the Colonial Office denied the need of troops to guard 
the frontier. On June 12th the mayors of Kimberley 
and Mafeking telegraphed the Prime Minister of 
Cape Colony, asking for protection, as the Boers 
threatened hostilities. But Mr, Schreiner scouted 
the idea of war. On July 26th the Governor cabled 
to London that the Natal Ministry anxiously re- 
quested attention to their unprotected colony; but 
rather than excite the Transvaal Executive, the mes- 
sage was shelved for further development by Mr. 
Chamberlain, who is now charged with being intent 
on war. On September 2d the Governor of Natal 
on behalf of the colonists cabled the Colonial Secre- 
tary that the Boers massed on the borders were mak- 
ing open threats of invasion, and again begged for 
reinforcements to guard the northern portion of the 
colony. 

Then and not until then were troops sent, and 
their tardy despatch, the ostensible cause of the 
4 49 



In South Africa with Buller 

war, was too late to prevent the sacking of half of 
Natal and of much territory in Cape Colony. The 
drafting of Sir George White's command, a tenth of 
the armed strength of the Transvaal, was held by 
President Kruger to constitute an open threat of war, 
and without waiting for the tantalizingly delayed 
reply that Mr. Chamberlain was formulating, he 
launched an ultimatum that could have but one 
outcome. 

While England would not have tolerated an in- 
definite prolongation of the Transvaal policy, and a 
refusal of reform would have certainly provoked 
armed intervention, considerable patience had been 
manifested. The contention that the country would 
think of undertaking a war for the sake of gold 
mines which were already the property of individuals 
of several nationalities, and whose output, even under 
a heavy tax, would be exhausted ere a tenth of the 
cost of the war could be extracted, is too ridiculous 
to need comment, and the lack of British prepara- 
tion is the strongest argument against the charge of 
aggression. 

Read history! Mr. Gladstone had expected that 
the Boers would appreciate the generosity of the 
retrocession of '81 and the unprecedented humanity 
which was willing to forego vengeance for the tar- 
nished lustre of British arms. Jubilant over their 
easy victories, the Boers have seen neither generosity 
nor humanity in this noble peace. Not realizing the 

50 



Conciliation 

force that could have been sent to overwhelm them, 
they added bitter contempt to their previous hatred 
for the English. They mistook magnanimity for 
fear. The Premier was later to hear of Joubert's 
efforts to induce Lobenguela to " wipe the stink of 
the English from the land." It was not many 
months after his historical act of clemency, which in 
repetition lost the Soudan and Gordon, that he was 
obliged to send a military expedition to force the 
Boers to keep their agreement. Forgiveness for 
trespass does not seem a wise national text. Hosea 
is right, — 

" Conciliate ? it jest means be kicked, 

No metter how they phrase an' tone it ; 
It means thet we 're to set down licked, 
That we 're poor shots an' glad to own it ! " 

The restriction of foreign treaties notwithstanding, 
the alien ministers of the Transvaal, notably Dr. 
Leyds, have sustained a continuous series of intrigues 
with foreign Powers, — intrigues that menaced 
British supremacy in South Africa. Hampered by 
the stigma of the Jameson raid, all this was suffered 
in patience. But some issue was imminent. To the 
last, peaceful settlement was hoped for and expected. 
Despite the ignorance of Boer resources, and the 
underrating of their power, the significance of war 
had long been appreciated (see ministerial speeches), 
and if the Government was determined on war can it 
for a moment be supposed that such a handful of men 

51 



In South Africa with Buller 

would have been held at the Cape in the face of con- 
tinual Transvaal menace ? 

Talk to the sturdy Natal farmer, the true type of 
Afrikander, but one who scouts the appellation as 
hiding the Cape Boer. He has been born and bred 
among the Boers : in his earlier years he witnessed 
what he calls the national humiliation of the Pre- 
toria convention ; he has seen and endured the slurs 
and contempt engendered by Mr. Gladstone's sur- 
render. With his goods looted, his life work de- 
stroyed, he says not, " Why did Chamberlain and 
Rhodes force this war?" but rather, "Why did not 
England prepare for the inevitable months and 
years ago ? " 

I would sooner abide by the judgment of those 
men, who at least have as much right in South Africa 
as the Boers, than by that of the Chamberlains, Rhodes, 
Steads, and Morleys, or the many very ignorant, 
clever persons who have written opinions on the 
South African question and have done much to mis- 
direct American opinion. 

Nature has given the Transvaal impregnable de- 
fences on the borders. Even supposing, from British 
bluster, that war was inevitable. President Kruger, 
professed Christian and lover of peace, if so pro- 
foundly anxious to avert bloodshed, might have 
massed his burghers on the impregnable passes lead- 
ing into his country and proved to the world that his 
motto was defence rather than defiance. Had Eng- 

52 



A Question of Taxation 

land declared, war, his claim of safeguarding his 
independence would then have demanded the sym- 
pathy of all free men. But on the mere supposition 
that war was intended, he made it inevitable. He 
invoked the aid of the God of battles in preserving 
his country, and threw his burghers to loot and 
plunder across the frontier. 

Taxation in Switzerland is $5 per capita. In Eng- 
land it is $15. On the Rand it is |110. There is no 
specific fault, however, in the extraction of a high 
revenue from a highly waged community, or in the 
levy on the Rand gold mines, which in 1897 contrib- 
uted 16,100 more to the Transvaal revenue than 
in dividends ; paying only in one year (1888) 
slightly more to their shareholders than to the Boer 
Government, though the great steel, sugar, and oil 
combines in America would speedily contest similar 
financial legislation. But the entire aspect of the 
case is altered by the corruption, maladministration, 
and lack of representation that prevailed in the 
Transvaal. Grant against the British Government, 
if you insist, either the charge of criminality in its 
lust for the said gold mines, or its idiocy in the con- 
duct of its negotiations, — you cannot obscure the 
Uitlanders' wrongs by these extraneous issues. 

I close my chapter with the words of the United 
States representative at the International Peace 
Conference, Captain Mahan, whose Americanism, I 
take it, is unquestionable, and who has had oppor- 

63 



In South Africa with Buller 

tunities for judging the case impartially and on its 
merits : " Persons wlio will look carefully into this 
matter will find that the Boers doubtless are, in their 
own opinion, fighting to preserve their own liberty, 
but they have been brought into this dilemma be- 
cause national liberty was in Mr. Kruger's mind 
inseparably associated with the right of a dominant 
minority, sole possessors of political power, — in other 
words, an oligarchy, — to oppress a majority, to tax it 
heavily, and to refuse it representation. The cause 
of the Uitlanders is in principle identical with that of 
the American Revolutionists." 



54 



Ife- 



t; 








■y-mm 




DIFFICULTIES OF CAMPAIGNING IN NATAL VIEW OF COUNTRY THIRTY MILES AROUND LADYSMITH. 



CHAPTER III 

Underlying Causes of the War. — Afrikanderism. — 
Plausible Arguments for an Afrikander Republic 
OF South Africa. — Annual Expenditure for Arms 
FROM 1889. — The Shadows of War. — Opening of 
Hostilities. 

In 1881 a certain statesman erected an apparently 
staple peace in South Africa. The storm and the 
floods of the Uitlander agitation descended and swept 
it away, and great was the fall thereof; for the foun- 
dation rested on the seething sands of Afrikanderism. 
The superficial causes of the war, developed at 
Bloemfontein, seemed trivial indeed, but a small ful- 
crum may accomplish much with a big lever. One 
must probe beneath the surface to find the great 
undermining cause that overthrew the peace of South 
Africa. 

Until the development of the Witwatersrand mines 
swelled the Transvaal revenue ten-thousand-fold, 
Pretoria was a sleepy hamlet, the Capitol or Raad- 
zaal was a thatched barn, floored with mixed clay and 
cowdung and furnished with rough-hewn benches. 
The stores were shanties stocked with pothats, Man- 
chester and Brummagem "Kaffir truck," and the 
institutions of the pastoral dorp simmered in primi- 
tive simplicity. But as Uitlander capital trans- 

55 



In South Africa with Buller 

formed the village of Johannesburg into a modern 
city, the commercial relationship fostered by traders 
like Beckett and Bourke and the proceeds of fat 
concessions that awoke new possibilities to the 
simple Pretorians transformed the capital into a 
prosperous city. A handsome Volksraadzaal was 
constructed for the government offices, though the 
lands-vaderen did not include the Bureau of Tele- 
graphs in the building, in consideration of the 
conscience of the older burghers, who deem such 
improvements the devil's magic. The erection of a 
stone Nederduitsch Hervormde church superseded 
Prinsloo's Wonderboom as the Pretorians' wonder of 
the world, and caused many of the Doppers to vio- 
late the tenth commandment. 

But, though villas that would grace Boston's Back 
Bay sprang up in the capital, and Johannesburg, 
with a cosmopolitan population that comprised every 
nationality under the sun, rose a blended Savannah, 
San Francisco, and Wall St. district, the lethargic 
Boers tended farm as of old, and left the Philistines 
severely alone. Some of the younger men, tempted 
by the devil in the guise of Thespis, occasionally 
happened into the theatre, during periodic visits to 
the great Babylon that had sprung up in their midst, 
risking thereby the public denunciation of the predi- 
hant and elders in their dorp^ and possibly a perma- 
nent shortening of their inamorata's candle. But in 
the main the development of the Rand concerned the 

56 



Characteristics of the Afrikander 

burghers little beyond the greatly increased market 
for their products and the marvellous winkles, after 
Wanamaker, that now tempted the vrouws with 
stocks of fearful finery, for the "purple and fine 
linen " of the Boer Sabbath. 

The ideal of the average Boer is patriarchal — to 
dwell on a vast farm with his wife, and his herd, 
and his sons, his sons' wives, and sons' herds. His 
style is simple; constant dealings with the natives 
have taught him subtlety, and the frightful environ- 
ment of his early life has developed the sturdy and 
admirable side of his very unlovable character. De- 
spite the Scriptural admonitions for the good treat- 
ment of the stranger, all travellers are "townsfolk," 
therefore verneukers, swindlers, to be avoided, or if 
possible misdirected. The Boer is supremely happy 
if he can successfully send you north when your 
desire is to go west, though if you can induce his 
hospitality, you become "nephew," brave the embar- 
rassing criticism of your aunt, and perhaps some 
equally frank cousins, and spend a night of misery 
in the fetid general room. 

In speaking of the limitations of the Boer, I have 
in mind the average South African Dutchman. One 
retrocedes in judgment with the journey northward, 
the progressive and purer Holland type at the Cape, 
worthy of the progenital Netherlanders, the sturdy 
"beggars of the sea" who emerged from the "Span- 
ish fury " to sustain the heroic struggle ended by 

57 



In South Africa with Buller 

the Peace of Westphalia, merging gradually but dis- 
tinctly through the average type, the Free Stater, 
into the extreme type of the far Zoutpansberg. Civ- 
ilization may frequently be judged by milestones. 

I am writing this in the stiff-backed chair of an 
average Dutch farm-house, with its slovenly vrouiv, 
a floor of hard, puddled-clay and cowdung, dirt every- 
where, notably on the doodkist, the coffin-cupboard 
that mingles death and the staff of life in a Boer 
household. The farmer, a hard-faced, bewhiskered 
son of the soil, and religious to a fault, treats his 
blacks with less donsideration than his dogs, hates 
the English like poison, why, he knows not, and is 
exceeding wrathy with the district missionary who, 
he says, will go on "beyond," to convert the mon- 
keys in the forest when he has done with the Kaffirs. 
He is the type of Afrikander who sighs for Dutch 
South Africa, and who has ridden off gladly to face 
the despised British army, expecting an easy vic- 
tory. It is pitiful to realize that these farmers have 
been led to war, to fight, and to die bravely and 
bravely inflict death, for what in their colossal igno- 
rance they deem a principle. 

The anniversary of the discovery of gold should 
be set apart for a day of humiliation throughout 
South Africa. It has attracted to the Transvaal 
the vast foreign population with their accompanying 
vices, and evolved the lust of empire in the once 
simple burgher government, attracting alien officials 

58 



Why the Burgher Fought 

and foreign influences that found easy prey in the 
simple farmers. Take any Boer prisoner — ask him 
why he fought. He will sullenly inform you that 
the British wanted to run his government, and reduce 
him to the level of the black. " Since the whole of 
South Africa was Taal by Divine right, the time had 
come to expel the rooibaatjes. The verdomde Cape 
Afrikanders were sad cowards, and had not fought, 
but AUemachter ! the Boers must win. Many sol- 
diers had been killed, and the English army would 
soon shreck, to be shot down like Kaffirs or vilder- 
beeste." Vaderlandshefde is strong in the Boer heart, 
but he has been led to fight also for the vast grazing 
farms that "could be seized from the English with 
little danger to life or limb." 

The Jonkherrs of the Volksraad generally repre- 
sent the progressive type of burgher; they have not 
precipitated the long contemplated war without care- 
ful survey of the conditions. A programme which 
had been studied throughout Afrikanderdom and 
deluded many an intelligent Bond member at the 
Cape, had been prepared by Steyn and others, who 
thought they knew their England. The growth of 
socialism and strikes, the increasing power of the 
British working-man was twisted into the contention 
that the masses would refuse the taxation necessary 
to prosecute a war in South Africa. Utterances of 
the Irish Nationalists and other rabid "Little Eng- 
landers " showed that a war would be promptly 

59 



In South Africa with Buller 

ended by a second Majuba, with conditions that 
spelt the evacuation, perhaps, of Natal or to the Cape. 

Naturally the gold mines would induce greater 
imperial effort than in '81. but if a mere handful of 
burghers without money, then won victories, the ele- 
ments of success were ten-thousand-fold greater with 
the three hundred thousand Afrikanders who were 
to rise simultaneously in the republics and colonies 
and face the British with modern rifles, the new- 
fangled but useful artillery, and unlimited gold that 
could be mined and coined at will. The British 
government would not dare remove soldiers from 
Ireland, Egypt, or India; the French element would 
negative Canadian action. Thus the force that could 
be sent out would be easily outmatched by Afri- 
kanders, for in '81 thirty British fell for each 
burgher wounded. 

German jealousy, French hatred, — either would 
debar the employment of reserves, militia, or vol- 
unteers on foreign service; besides, early reverses 
in Africa would prove the end of European tolera- 
tion of hated England, and a great European alliance 
would complete the humiliation which the Afri- 
kanders had begun. The rottenness of royalty and 
society had undermined the morale of navy and army, 
the ranks were filled with the scum of the cities, 
weedy striplings, diseased and without stamina to 
fight. The Cabinet and the official world was domi- 
nated by party and personal jealousy and corruption. 

60 



Boer Tabulation of British Weakness 

The British colonies were a drain rather than an arm 
of strength ; many would probably declare their inde- 
pendence in the day of imperial embarrassment. 

By copious extracts from writings and speeches of 
cranks and alarmists, statistical proofs of the decline 
of British supremacy from current reviews, speeches 
of Irish agitators in New York, and cuttings from 
the Pere Duchene gutter rags of Paris, that reviled 
the Yankee deliverer of Cuba, and now expended 
their vile balderdash against perjide Albion, braced 
with pertinent texts of Philistines, Naboth's vine- 
yard, and Gomorrah, the British Empire was proved 
to be stable as a house of cards. Mene! Tekel! 
Peres ! 

It is instructive to note that among the revised quo- 
tations were selections from articles by Mr. Arnold 
White, and the labor prognostications of Mr. Arnold 
Foster, who foretold and advised British working- 
men to take advantage of the war, if it were forced, 
by extensive strikes ; but even the Radical working- 
men, the "locofocos," proved loyal, unwittingly dis- 
proving the estimative faculty of the Boers, who 
held them as a great arm of strength. 

The potwolloping stemmers of the Transvaal needed 
no such arguments to convince them; they had 
"taken their pap with a hatchet," and were with- 
out fear or reason, but even the most enlightened 
Free Staters were misled by the easy possibilities of 
the zelfstandigheid of South Africa. We have it on the 

61 



In South Africa with Buller 

authority of Mr. Theodore Schreiner, brother to the 
authoress and Preraier, that Dr. Reitz, ere the ink 
of the Pretorian convention was dry, acknowledged 
that Afrikanders would actively propagandize until 
they forced the extension of that magnanimity to the 
Cape. Kruger has repeated the same thing, and the 
more liberal Joubert, who held that many Uitlanders, 
if franchised, would strengthen the republic, has 
ever been desirous of sweeping the English from 
South Africa, "wiping out their stink," as he euphon- 
iously put it. 

The Jameson raid,^ and the machinations of capi- 

1 By utterances in pulpit, platforna, and press it is evident that 
many well informed people trace every cause of the war to the raid, 
which they commonly designate as " Ehodes' attempt to seize the 
Transvaal." Bryce, who was compiling history on the Band when 
the trouble was at its height, says: " It is hardly necessary to point 
out the absurdity of the suggestion that the Chartered Company in- 
tended to seize the Transvaal for itself. It was for self-government 
the insurgent Uitlanders were to rise." As an authority on South 
Africa no one is better known perhaps in the United States than this 
historian. But unfortunately, after proving the case against Kru- 
gerism to the hilt, impartially outlining the ideals and grievances of 
the Uitlanders, and dealing with the Boer government with no gen- 
tle hand in " Impressions of South Africa," we turn to him in the 
present juncture to discover a political bias dominating his pen. 

In his arraignment of Mr. Chamberlain, he ignores much that he 
has previously written, and makes a main contention of the fact 
that Kruger is old ; Chamberlain and the Uitlanders should have 
waited until he died or the latter grew strong enough numerically 
to strike the blow for their own freedom. If the North American 
colonists had meekly submitted to imposition until George III. 
should have died, history would now be different. Patience and 
progression are not synonymous. 

We cannot overlook also that the negotiations were opened 
peacefully as a means of averting civil war, inevitable if the intol- 

62 



The Ideal of the Taal 

talists must not obscure our vision of underlying 
causes that made hostilities in South Africa inevita- 
ble within the next decade. To those who lay entire 
onus of the war on the Colonial Secretary, and trace 
all evils to the door of the above, I would submit 
the early files of De Patriot^ the great Taal organ 
of South Africa, the mouthpiece of the Afrikander 
party in the colonies. The magnanimous peace of 
Majuba evoked the following effusion: — 

"The Transvaal war is over and we now sing praises to 
God for the deliverance of our brethren and the restoration 
of a pure and righteous government. God's hand has 
been never so visible in the history of our people since the 
days of Israel. Fear from God make the English soldiers 
powerless, and proud England was forced to give up the land 
after she was repeatedly beaten by a handful of Boers, God 
giving a marvellous victory without losses to his people. 
, . . The Afrikanders have now time and opportunity to 
develop themselves as a people. England has gained so 
much respect for us Afrikanders that she will never dare 
to make war on us again; and what the Transvaal has 
gained, so can we gain for all South Africa, for we have 
now no fear of English soldiers or their cannon." 

Dr. Reitz, E. Borckenhagen, who inspired the 
above article, and Rev. J. S. du Toit then founded 
the Afrikander Bond, whose avowed object was to 

erable legislation of the Transvaal were persisted in. And even if 
Kruger's motives were unjustly mistrusted by the British, all might 
have ended peaceably had not the burghers clamored for war from 
May onward, and finally rendered it inevitable. 

63 



In South Africa with Buller 

expel the British race from South Africa. The 
following were the ideals of this marvellous organi- 
zation of all Afrikanders, from Cape to Zambesi. 
You will note that their references are directed 
to the British colonies, which they claimed for 
Af rikanderdom : — 

''The government of England talks of the confederation 
of all the States in their colonies here under the British 
flag. There is one fault in that confederation that will 
make it impossible, for we will never permit it — it is 
that flag. . . . Our aim will be to insist on Froude's ad- 
vice : Simon's Bay for the British to refit on the voyage 
to India, and nothing more. . . . We have seen what stu- 
pendous results we gained from the Transvaal war. Now 
we must not relax our efforts. It is we Afrikanders under 
or they under. ... 

" These English come to South Africa and open hotels, 
canteens, and stores. The stores are our dangerous enemy, 
for our people are attracted thereby, and they buy, buy till 
they are half ruined. . . This money is used to support 
English papers and English schools, and we say plainly it 
is the duty of the true Afrikander to buy nothing from an 
Englishman nor from one who advertises in English news- 
papers. Where there is no offal there are no vultures. 
The English rob us with their stores and banks. The 
Free State has its own National bank. Let not the 
Transvaal follow alone, but let the colonies establish 
Afrikander banks to further displace these English. We 
must also learn to make our own munitions of war. The 
republics must do this for us : for all Afrikanders. We 

64 



What the Bond Outlined 

do not fear the reds (soldiers). They will never dare face 
Afrikanders again after Majuba. But we must have can- 
non and cartridges and artillery held in the Transvaal and 
in the Free State. . . . Let us take a little time and we 
will develop our nationality. . . . 

" English vultures in the towns will soon be forced to 
depart, but it is the English settlers who buy land that we 
must fear. They come here to stay. Afrikanders, you 
must not sell your land to Englishmen. We own the big 
ranches. The English colonist is a jingo, and he will sacri- 
fice our land and our people to England and English ideas. 
. . . The English language has unjustly protruded itself 
over our whole country . . . the gibberish of the rooineks 
forces its way into our houses and our churches. . . . 

"Besides the English soakers (hotel keepers), robbers, 
(traders), reds (soldiers), there are the bluffers, English 
and Anglified schoolmasters, who teach our children that 
the English tongue is the finest, whereas it is a miscel- 
laneous gibberish ; . . . that English history is inter- 
esting and glorious, instead of a string of lies ; that the 
geography of England is chief, when it is but a North 
Sea Island; . . . that English literature is the best, 
when (with exceptions) it is a great mass of nonsense. 
. . . These bluffers are most dangerous to us, for they work 
unobtrusively. . . . We must have no English in our par- 
liament, courts, public offices, railways. In our religion 
we must not let that language intrude. Anglified preach- 
ers smuggle in the language. Therefore war against it in 
our church. . . . 

' ' For the schools for our girls the English lead. We 
must establish Afrikander schools for our children, for by 
5 65 



In South Africa with Buller 

Anglifying our daughters tliey infect family life. The 
English, notion that women are to have high education is 
insane, unscriptural, house-corrupting, home-corrupting. 
These schools for girls must be banished from our land. 
The Huguenot schools are corrupting our daughters with 
education that their parents do not understand. Keep 
your houses pure from this high English education." 

The avowed intention of the Bond was to erect an 
Afrikander nation to offset the Anglo Saxon supe- 
riority in North America, and as the Dutch had been 
submerged there, Hollanders were asked to join their 
hybrid South African brothers in their retrogres- 
sive ideals. But civilization would have no such 
trammels. Despite the Bond, Afrikanders adopted 
modern ideas, introduced by the influx of British 
settlers, and, to the disgust of Reitz and his rabid 
prototypes, the more progressive Dutch colonials have 
recognized that the future of South Africa must be 
shaped by the liberal colonial policy of Greater Brit- 
ain. When it came to the crucial test, to the chagrin 
of the ultra Bondites, colonial Afrikanders in majority 
remained loyal. The later generations have proved 
true British subjects, and the roster of the colonial 
volunteers now at the front contains an astonish- 
ing number of Dutch names of men fighting to free 
South Africa from a retrograde dominance. 

Dutch paramountcy could not have become a dan- 
gerous issue for years ; probably it would never have 
become an active factor but for the geological acci- 

6Q 



The Arming of the Transvaal 

dent of gold in the Transvaal. The Boers were the 
most bitter Afrikanders; gold meant revenue for 
new rifles for every burgher, and the Free State 
allies, and for all Afrikanders, when the time should 
come for them to arm. It seemed a Divine provision 
for victory, this fabulous wealth. The friction over 
the Uitlander grievances and distrust of Rhodes and 
Chamberlain were only incentives, — • the extra strain 
to overreach breaking-point. A red rag is not dan- 
gerous unless waved at a bull, and the diplomatic 
friction at Bloemfontein could not have caused war 
under normal conditions. 

The pitiful exegesis of the Afrikander leaders de- 
luded Kruger's ignorant subjects; they overrated 
the racial instincts and underrated the loyalty of the 
Cape Dutch; and when prosperity dawned in the 
Transvaal, the projected armaments were started, 
until they assumed gigantic proportions. Mauser 
rifles, Creusot guns, and trained German gunners 
were necessary neither for defence nor aggression 
against native tribes or unarmed Uitlanders. Long 
before the raid the Transvaal was arming, and, prac- 
tically surrounded by British territory, the stupen- 
dous increase of armaments was either for offence or 
defence against Great Britain. 

The raid took place at the dawn of 1896. But in 
1886 Nellmapius, the indicted but never sentenced 
embezzler, established the official gunpowder fac- 
tory in the Transvaal, In 1888, when revenue com- 

67 



In South Africa with Buller 

menced to pour in, large orders for arms were placed 
in Europe. In 1893 enough money had been 
diverted from Uitlanders to justify preparations for 
the fortification of Pretoria and Johannesburg. Dr. 
Leyds scoured Germany for trained gunners; one 
officer enlisted by his efforts, who served later " for 
love of the republic," had been dismissed the Ger- 
man army for killing a mechanic who accident- 
ally kicked his chair. The forts were started in 
1894, when the Staats Artillery was mobilized. One 
hundred and fifty thousand rifles and millions of car- 
tridges were imported from the Mauser Company and 
England, and distributed throughout the republics. 
Before the raid, orders for heavy guns had been 
placed with Krupp and Le Creusot, and Maxims im- 
ported. Fearful that the war would be precipitated 
by complications following the raid, and in the ex- 
pectancy of a backing by Germany in 1896 and 1897, 
greater sums were expended than in previous years. 

The official figures of the Don Juan Nepomuceno 
de Burionagonatotorecagageazcoecha of the Transvaal 
are complicated and difficult of access, but the mili- 
tary expenditures of the peace-loving republic were 
over $400,000 in 1889, considerably more than half 
that sum in 1890, and in exact figures, — 

£117,927 in 1891 £87,308 in 1895 

29,750 '' 1892 495,818 '' 1896 

22,470 " 1893 396,384 " 1897 

28,153 " 1894 217,839 '' 1898 

68 



The Free State Allied 

It is interesting to note that these sums, enor- 
mous for a country boasting a $3 treasury a few- 
years previously, were expended in their entirety for 
arms and equipment. The cost of the fortifications 
was charged to Public Works. The salaries of mer- 
cenaries were paid from the Secret Service fund or 
by departments to which they were attached. 

Of the Orange Free State one hesitates to speak. 
It seems incredible that the kindly and intelligent 
President would imperil the national existence of his 
people for mere bonds of kinship with the neighbor- 
ing State that has never proved true ally or friend. 
The Free State had none of the animosities that 
dominated the Transvaal, and no ground for com- 
plaint in the freedom and scope of its constitution, 
which the Uitlanders have ever held as a model for 
President Kruger. The hundreds of Free Staters 
who left their country rather than support the vagary 
of their rulers, say that President Steyn and his sup- 
porters cherished the ideal of Afrikander, i. «., Boer 
South Africa, and after a careful study of the con- 
ditions and possibilities, when some thirty thousand 
rifles had been distributed among the ultra Dutch 
in the colonies he resolved to risk all in a bid for 
Afrikander empire. His appeal to Dutch British 
subjects was printed and distributed ere the ultima- 
tum expired, and bitter was his disappointment that 
the Cape burghers remained loyal to the flag that gave 
them a control as free as a republic. 

69 



In South Africa with Buller 

He has lost the respect of his warmest admirers by 
the ridiculous lies that he has spread to encourage 
his burghers in days of reverse. He first declared 
that the Continental Powers were about to intervene, 
then that Russia had seized India, that the United 
States was certain to intervene eventually, and finally 
that an Irish revolt was about to recall the army. 

Certainly his own burghers of the Frazer party 
had no sympathy with his aspirations. Some are 
fighting unwillingly, hundreds deserted when the 
British advanced, and many, branded as traitors, fled 
when war was declared, to live doggo in Cape Colony. 
Here, too. President Steyn sent his wife and daugh- 
ters for safety at the outbreak of war; safety in the 
enemy's country at Swellendam, but eighteen miles 
from Cape Town; security under the British flag, 
while under the vier-kleur British women have been 
driven forth to perish on the veldt unless their 
strength and resolution sustained them to a British 
garrison. 

But for the cautious influence of Steyn, who 
apparently wished for further manifestations from 
the Cape Dutch before risking his country, and 
was somewhat restrained by the large Free State 
peace party, war would have been declared months 
earlier. The despatch of reinforcements precipitated 
what prudence had advised to delay for further prep- 
arations, and the republics declared war to win or lose 
all in the game of supremacy. 

70 



The Exodus from the Rand 

The meetings held at the Paarde Kraal moimment 
and other points, in June, proved the warlike spirit 
that had been infused into the burghers. In the 
Transvaal, war was the main topic, and in July, 
when fighting seemed preposterous to outsiders, hun- 
dreds of Uitlanders removed their families from the 
Rand. Arrogance and intolerance of things British 
grew with the martial spirit, and numerous instances 
of brutality were reported. In August the open 
threats of the Boers swelled the steady exodus into 
a rush that became a mad panic in September, and 
spread to the border towns exposed to the threatened 
invasion. 

As commando after commando was hurried to the 
border, in committal of the initial sin charged against 
the imperial government, thousands of Uitlanders 
barricaded their stores and houses, and started for 
British territory. The inevitable sufferings of these 
refugees, exaggerated by the excitement and fear of 
the moment, were greatly augmented by the crass 
brutality of the Boers. Mr. Schreiner has officially 
denied that these outrages were perpetrated. Rabid 
colonial loyalists say that he was too busy mollify- 
ing his Bond supporters by securing the neutrality of 
British South Africa in a British war, to attend to 
such matters. 

I can only state facts as I learned them from the 
refugees themselves, — plain British women, typical 
mothers of the nation. The Boer lout is by no 

71 



In South Africa with Buller 

means a "Benbow," and he knows his Old Testa- 
ment well. It was not the roughs alone who boasted 
of "the comely woman for each warrior, and the 
rooineJcs into the sea." Martial law from the Book 
of Numbers was frequently quoted at commando 
meetings by jonkherrs and Dopper leaders, and there 
are some Boers who fain would have treated the 
British in Cape Colony as Israel treated the Midian- 
ites, as a policy consistent with their belief. 

Men, women, and children, in the early days of 
October, were crowded into seatless coal and cattle 
trucks, the latter Augean stables, and sent over the 
frontier. On both Cape and Natal journeys Boers 
gathered at the wayside stations, baiting the refugees 
being a regular diversion for the burghers. Mr. 
Langham, a Reformist who ventured to the station 
when the Krugersdorp commando was entraining, 
was kicked, beaten, and mortally injured. At Vil- 
joen's Drift rude official searches were made, at 
Paarde Kraal ladies were kissed, and told to prepare 
for Boer paramours; at Kroonstaad a Scotch lady 
who resented an insult was struck in the face. On 
at least three trains, fathers who ventured from the 
station to buy milk for their famished children were 
driven back to the cars by the sjamboks of mounted 
burghers ; several bore bleeding weals on their faces. 
A father who protested that his child would die, was 
assured, with a slash, that it would be one more 
rooineh in hell. An American was beaten and 

72 



Outrages on Refugees 

kicked, the Z. A. R. Police pushing their revolvers 
in his face when he demanded protection. 

On October 1st at Machadodorp, at other points 
at other times, all male passengers were forced to 
remain bareheaded in the presence of waiting com- 
mandoes. Those who declined to comply were 
dragged to the platform and beaten and kicked; 
two Englishmen, whose names I withhold by re- 
quest, bore the marks of their treatment. I con- 
versed with several refugees who showed bruises and 
weals to confirm their statements. A woman from 
Grantham stated that her child of two stared fear- 
lessly at an insulting burgher, who snatched the girl 
from her lap, a comrade pointing a gun at the child's 
head. The distracted mother's appeals caused in- 
tense amusement to the crowd, and no one to-day 
can persuade her that they did not intend murder. 
A Boer officer shouted jocularly, "Give the child 
back; let it grow to bear rooinehs for us to kill." 
An Irish sister of charity, protesting, was silenced 
by a lusty Boer who spat in her face. A shower 
of stones followed the train, several people being 
injured. 

Separated from their husbands, who were held back 
for night trains, several English ladies were crowded 
in open trucks with miners and drunken roughs, 
unable to obtain food or change their position for 
forty-eight hours. The frights and excitement pro- 
duced unnatural conditions on several trains. Two 

73 



In South Africa with Buller 

women died on reaching the frontier, and several 
small occupants were added to the cars en route. 
Individual officers went through some of the cars, 
examining the cash of the refugees. Small sums 
were returned, but many who were taking out their 
savings had the entire amount commandeered, save a 
pound or two allowed for incidentals. 

All this I know was the work of the lowest type 
of Boer, but the police who enjoyed the " jokes " 
represented the law and order of the republic. 
Representative Boers also incited such actions by 
their speeches, and frequently encouraged them by 
their acclamations. To the limitations of the minds 
of the South African Dutch, no real harm was in- 
tended. But the extreme type of "Brother Boer," 
Mr. Lacy, who should know him well enough to 
speak with authority says, "is the craftiest, most 
hypocritical, most untruthful, cruellest, most igno- 
rant, most overbearing, most stupid race of whites 
in the world." A heavy indictment indeed, with 
many vigorous exceptions. 

Since ninety thousand fugitives left the Rand 
during the last days' rush, a large proportion of 
them penniless, Durban, Cape Town, and many in- 
termediate places on the railroads were soon crowded 
with destitute Uitlanders of every race. The Rand 
Relief Committee had disbursed $100,000 during the 
first week in October, and local committees worked 
night and day in providing for the needy, though all 

74 




ss; 



Relief of Refugees 

resources were taxed to the utmost. It was pitiful 
to witness the acute despondency in the sad, strained 
faces of the British women and children, as train 
after train deposited its heavy freight of homeless 
and helpless innocent beyond the borders. 

Mothers almost denuded themselves to shield their 
young ones from the chill rains, but as they sat 
among the bundles of their sole remaining posses- 
sions, few asked for charity; despite their sorrow 
and suffering, all wanted work. Though small-pox 
broke out among some of the refugees, the colonists, 
heedless of the danger, threw open their houses to 
the women and children, and the very poorest offered 
lodging or food according to their ability. Bureaus 
also arranged systematized relief, applicants receiv- 
ing in accordance to their needs, and paying to suit 
their means. Many of the Dutch co-operated with 
the British in relieving war's favorite victims, though 
in Cape Town, certain of their religious bodies showed 
no disposition to aid the work ; and I found some Mrs. 
Jellybys, lights of liberality in their synod, refusing 
to help the women and children of the Uitlanders, 
who "deserved their fate for causing the war." 

Americans, Europeans, from Russians to Polish 
Jews, coolies and negroes, — all were helped in turn. 
Many male British subjects, and a number of the 
Americans joined the colonial irregulars; the mis- 
cellaneous crowd found employment in extensive 
relief-works. 

75 



In South Africa with Buller 

Multitudinous Chinese storekeepers had suffered 
severely, since, to evade the Transvaal prohibition 
against their holding property, they had traded under 
the names of British brokers, and had their stocks 
commandeered in consequence. The numerous Hin- 
doo traders also were robbed and severely maltreated 
ere they crossed the borders, three of their women 
being stripped naked by one commando, with the 
jeering excuse that they were no better than niggers, 
and clothes were unnecessary. 



76 



CHAPTER IV 

Wab. — Invasion of the Colonies. — The Battle 
OF Dundee. 

On October 2 the Volksraad was prorogued in 
Pretoria. President Kruger in addressing the mem- 
bers said that everything pointed to war. "The 
Boers need fear nothing : thousands would come to 
attack them; but the Lord was on their side, and 
they would prevail. Thousands of bullets were 
fired by Jameson's men, but the burghers were un- 
touched, while 100 [sic] on the other side were 
killed by Boer bullets directed by God." Other 
members spoke, many with evident sincerity, be- 
lieving their cause righteous and their country 
menaced. 

State Secretary Reitz had long since composed 
the ultimatum to force the war he had thought of 
so long: the war for his ideal. He had jumped 
from the Presidential chair of the Free State to 
take up the State Secretary's portfolio in the more 
wealthy Transvaal; he had slaved night and day, 
honestly believing in the Divine guidance of his 
policy, and now war was here. With young 
Smuts, still in his salad days, and with not too 

77 



In South Africa with Buller 

savory a reputation, bolstered up as State Attorney ; 
Grobler pitchforked in the secretaryship of Foreign 
Affairs by the concessionnaire Mendelssohn ; the ques- 
tionable Smit; Tosen, with name besmirched in a 
matrimonial suit ; Gillingham, the Irish renegade ; 
Voltter, Schiel, and a score others of the young 
Boer party, the Transvaal Tammany that has run 
the corrupt government of the simple Boers, with 
the Uitlanders as prey for spoils, — who can wonder 
that war came? 

Look carefully at these individuals, chiefly hire- 
lings and mercenaries ! You will perceive the 
fallacy of the syllogistic eulogies that place the 
republic in a religious halo, because of the God- 
fearing characteristics of individual Boers. It is 
said that a conscience could not exist in Pre- 
toria; certainly men of the calibre of Chief Justice 
Kotze and Judge Ameshoff, the one dismissed, 
the other forced to resign, because they would 
not adopt the travesty of justice enforced by 
the President, could have no place in the Kruger 
regime. 

Joubert, the liberal and incorruptible patriot ; Jeppe, 
who, in an arraignment of the franchise policy in the 
Volksraad, asked the President, " Old as the world 
is, has any attempt like ours ever succeeded for 
long ? " and warned him to enfranchise the Uitlanders 
or lose the republic; Jan Barnard, the Uitlanders' 
friend, who to the last deplored the Krugerism that 

78 



Een Draght Maakt Magt 

precipitated war, but was one of the first to die 
figliting bravely for his country, — these were the 
type of Boers who would have reared and perma- 
nently sustained a progressive republic, had not the 
party they represented been held out of power by 
scheming monopolists whose strenuous and unscru- 
pulous efforts secured only a narrow majority for 
the Kruger party. 

Een draght maaht magt is the Boer motto, but 
"Money makes might and right" would not 
be inappropriate. The " Christian resignation " of 
Kruger's esoteric advisers is obvious hypocrisy, not 
to say blasphemy; and without direct comparisons, 
the public worship of the bloody Weyler Camarilla 
might have equally demanded the sympathy of 
Christian nations for Spain. Corruption in Pretoria 
Avas no worse perhaps than in certain other and 
greater cities, but that is no reason for its tolerance 
by a vote-tied majority. 

The commandoes were rapidly mobilized, for 
though the Transvaal was not an absolute embodi- 
ment of Carlyle's ideal, — a nation drilled and exer- 
cised as one vast army, — the very simplicity of the 
military system, possible from the inherent traits 
of the bucolic burghers, permitted facile concentra- 
tion. Prepared for eventualities, on the call to 
arms the Boers had but to saddle their horses, don 
rifle, bandolier, and blanket, and ride to the district 
muster. Each burgher carried a supply of Ultong^ 

79 



In South Africa with Buller 

and was ready for the field, though in many cases 
the devoted women followed the commandoes in 
wagons filled with such simple luxuries as they 
possessed. Each commando moved off with the 
prayers and blessings of the vrouws. Like the 
Spartan women of old, there were few tears shed 
by either the ponderous tantes or the young nichtjes. 
They sent their husbands and lovers forth to return 
victors or die on the field. 

By train and road, a strong force of Boers gath- 
ered at Volksrust and Wakkerstroom, ready to act 
in their old theatre of war at Laing's Nek. Other 
forces prepared to invade Natal by the drifts on 
the Buffalo River. The northwestern commandoes 
moved toward the Rhodesian frontier, and also occu- 
pied Komati Poort, commanding the Delagoa Bay 
railroad, in anticipation of cession of Portuguese 
territory to Great Britain. Snyman and De la E.ey 
laagered with Cronje at Bultfonteiu, ready to operate 
against Mafeking and Kimberley. The Free Staters 
moved strong commandoes to the main Drakensberg 
passes leading into Natal, and mixed forces marched 
to the borders toward Kimberley. 

A careful estimate of the Boer army at the out- 
break of hostilities gives the strength of the com- 
bined republics at 70,000 men. After the first 
month of war I compiled the following estimate 
from data given me by Afrikanders connected with 
the republic : — 

80 



The Armies of the Republics 

Transvaal official return, 1895 30,000 

Natural increase of burghers, 1895 to 1899 . 3,000 
Mercenary troops and Uitlanders siding with. 

Boers 4,600 

Hollanders, Cape Dutch, and foreigners 

naturalized, 1895 to 1899 3,000 

Free State official burgher returns .... 27,500 

Foreigners, etc 2,000 

Cape Dutch rebels 6,000 

Grand total 76,100 

The simple, home-loving burghers rode forth to 
battle, blindly breathing threats against Cecil Rhodes, 
Chamberlain, and Frank Eyes (Franchise). This last 
was to be shot on sight (Fraiik Byes sal wij skijf), for 
lie had caused much trouble. God help those deluded 
farmers : willing victims of the scheming of Pretoria's 
Continental toadies ! 

In Johannesburg business was at a standstill, and 
sixty-eight out of eighty mines were closed down. 
The sweepings of the city, the roughugies.^ schlenter 
dealers, and thieves of the mining camps were ex- 
pelled by the last trains. Three hundred French, 
German, and Swiss were enrolled as police, the 
" Colin Tampon's " doing very efficient work in this 
respect. The revelations made by these foreigners 
as to the condition of the Transvaal native prisoners 
make one shudder. Other foreigners joined the mer- 
cenaries, soldiers of fortune officering contingents of 
their respective countries. 
6 81 



In South Africa with Buller 

The Z. A. R. Police under Van Dam and Schutte 
went to fight of their own volition. The guns of the 
Hospital Hill fort were sent to the front, but a garri- 
son was retained there under Van Dalwig. 

Under the guise of commandeering food-stuffs the 
homes of the Uitlanders were broken open and 
plundered; even Olive Schreiner's Transvaal resi- 
dence was ransacked, and a valuable library flung 
outside as superfluous. 

In Pretoria the officials were all at the front, the 
public offices being filled by friendly foreigners. The 
Krijgsraad directed active operations under the 
President's watchful eye. He professed that the war 
must be conducted in accordance with the Bible, 
which had guided all their actions, though he over- 
looked the fact that his obedience of Leviticus 
xix. 34, " But the stranger that dwelleth with 
you shall be as one born among you, and thou 
shalt love him as thyself," or the thrice reiterated 
command, " One law for the stranger and thyself," 
would have precluded war. " God helps those who 
help themselves," he said during his spiritual ad- 
monition on October 4th, and though a week be- 
fore war the mail train was stopped at Vereeniging, 
the government confiscating $4,000,000 in specie, 
as the property of the AduUamite Uitlanders. Later 
the Executive commandeered the Robinson and 
Bonanza mines, and despite the protest of M. Colom- 
mer, French vice-consul, on behalf of French share- 

82 



The Shadow of War 

holders, the output of the richest mines of the Rand 
was speedily turned into gold currency in the Trans- 
vaal mint, creating the unprecedented condition of a 
country able to keep its treasury filled by a direct 
supply of bullion. 

The foreign consuls met at the Italian Charg^ 
d' Affaires'. I have heard that Mr. Macrum, the 
American representative, was not ahsohxtely jpersona 
grata there; this may account for his vagarious 
actions, though his successor has not encountered 
similar opposition. Americans complained bitterly of 
their position in the Transvaal during the crisis, and 
many left the country. The representative of the 
American firm of J. S. Curtis & Co., in giving notice 
of his withdrawal from the Rand, wrote, " My flag is 
not respected, my passport not recognized, and, in 
short, my position was made unbearable." I have 
heard others express themselves in a similar manner. 

Under early shadows of the war the regular 
forces in Cape Colony numbered 3,000 men, with a 
garrison of 5,000 in Natal. The former command 
consisted of two companies of Garrison Artillery, one 
company of Engineers, three and one-half battalions 
of infantry, with detachments. Army Service, Medical 
Staff, and Ordnance Store Corps. In Natal, General 
Symons commanded one brigade division Field 
Artillery, one mountain battery, three companies 
Garrison Artillery, four companies Royal Engineers, 

83 



In South Africa with Buller 

two calvary regiments, six and one half battalions of 
infantry, with equivalent sections of Army Service, 
Medical Staff, and Ordnance Corps, 

The presence of armed parties of Boers along the 
frontier and the constant threat of raids led to the 
reinforcement of the Natal forces from the Cape ; 
but for weeks, when the republics were shouting 
war, the main approaches to the colonies and the 
menaced border towns, were guarded only by a few 
policemen, — a fact which certainly negatives Eng- 
land's determination on war at any price. When 
the ultimatum was launched, General Symons had a 
single infantry brigade with cavalry and artillery 
at the advance post, Glencoe Camp, Dundee. These 
slender forces were absolutely inadequate to prevent 
invasion, and any attempt to save Newcastle or hold 
Laing's Nek must have resulted in disaster from 
attack in rear. 

At the eleventh hour General White landed with 
reinforcements and assumed supreme command in 
Natal, General Symons becoming his direct subor- 
dinate. Already the Boers were preparing to pour 
in from the north, and it was impossible to mobilize a 
force sufficient to occupy Laing's Nek and other passes. 

White questioned the advisability even of attempt- 
ing to hold Dundee, but the authorities, military and 
civil, had underrated their foe, and the governor, 
Sir William Hely-Hutchinson, pointed out the 
serious political consequences of abandoning the 

84 



Commands in the Colonies 

entire north, of Natal. Tlie coal fields in the district 
were of great importance, and military considerations 
were overruled by political possibilities. 

Symons' command comprised three field batteries 
It. A., the 18th Hussars, and the brigaded 1st King's 
Royal Rifles, 1st Leicestershire, 1st Royal Irish, and 
Dublin Fusiliers. Some of the reinforcements that 
had been despatched from England, India, Cairo, 
Malta, Crete, and Gibraltar reached White before 
investment, and garrisoned Ladysmith as a base, 
with three field and one mountain battery Royal 
Artillery, 5th Dragoon Guards, 5th Lancers, 19th 
Hussars, the 2d Gordon Highlanders, 1st Devon- 
shire, 1st Gloucester, 1st Manchester, 1st Liverpool 
Regiments brigaded, a colonial corps of the Natal 
Carabineers, the Light-horse raised from the Uit- 
landers, and the local artillery volunteers. 

Along the southern frontier isolated guards of 
policemen held the bridges and border towns against 
the republican forces. On the west Kimberley was 
garrisoned only by four companies of the North 
Lancashire Infantry and local volunteers. A few 
scattered police patrols guarded the frontier to 
Mafeking, where Colonel Baden-Powell had organ- 
ized the local forces under special service officers, 
among whom were Lord Salisbury's son, Lord Cecil, 
and Lord Bentinck. On the northern border the 
Rhodesian police and volunteers under Colonel 
Plumer patrolled the vast extent of frontier, where 

85 



In South Africa with Buller 

they liad also to control the natives. The recently 
conquered Matabili wished to take up arms against 
their old Boer foe, but at a great indaha, Gambo, 
Mazwe, Mpini, and the other indunas pledged neu- 
trality to the British Commissioner, and finally 
prevented their followers from reprisals for Boer 
incursions. 

At no point could direct opposition be made to 
Boer invasion, and the enemy was able to cross the 
frontiers at leisure at any point desired. When the 
time limit of the ultimatum expired, though many 
commands were out of telegraphic communications 
with Pretoria, the Boers swept over the frontier into 
British territory. They showed no disposition to 
await verification of the rejection of their demands, 
and apparently realized that their document would 
precipitate war. The prompt co-operation of the 
Free State forces in the campaign was also signifi- 
cant in the light of President Steyn's declarations. 

The first shots were fired on the western border. 
Colonel Baden-Powell despatched a train-load of non- 
combatants to Kimberley on October 12th, escorted 
by the armored train Mosquito under Captain Nesbit, 
V. C. Picking up two trucks containing field-pieces 
and ammunition for the defence of Mafeking, the 
captain started on his northward journey. At 
Maribogo the station-master notified him that the 
line was occupied by the Boers, but since the guns 
were needed, the plucky officer, with sixteen volun- 

86 



The Outbreak of War 

teers, determined to run the gantlet under cover 
of darkness. About midway the train was derailed, 
and though the handful of volunteers maintained a 
gallant defence of the overturned cars through the 
entire night against stupendous odds, while Flower- 
day, the engineer, hurried back for assistance, the 
fire of a Boer battery at daybreak ended resistance 
and the survivors surrendered. 

Communication with the south was now cut off, 
and the Zeerust, Rustenburg, and Lichtenburg com- 
mandoes under the brave but merciless Cronje com- 
pletely invested Mafeking, which was given one 
week to surrender, when the investing forces were 
to move down to take Kimberley. An African chief 
once told me that if England had many sons like 
Baden-Powell she must be great, since he was a 
god, wise, and of powerful fetish. Certainly some 
white men might think the colonel more than 
human, but his prowess and his qualities are an oft- 
told tale. Despite the inadequate means at his dis- 
posal, his indomitable character devised means both 
for defence and defiance, and Cronje soon left 
Mafeking to De la Rey, and moved south to Kim- 
berley, to win the more possible honors of capturing 
Mr. Rhodes alive or dead. 

A force of Boers moved against Vryburg, the cap- 
ital of Bechuanaland, where Major Scott and a hand- 
ful of police were prepared to resist to the last. The 
townsfolk, however, begged him to avert attack by 

87 



In South Africa with Buller 

evacuating. After a futile appeal by the magistrate, 
Mr. Tillard, for loyal subjects to assist the mayor, 
when only seven men responded amid the jeers and 
taunts for Dutch rebels, the police were reluctantly 
ordered to withdraw. As the Boers under Visser 
were annexing Vryburg and looting the homes of 
defenceless loyalists in a surrendered town. Major 
Scott shot himself through the head, unable to face 
the disgrace of enforced capitulation. 

The British colonists along the Bechuanaland bor- 
der hurriedly drove their stock westward, but their 
farms were looted and many destroyed, and thousands 
of cattle were captured. Mixed Free State and Trans- 
vaal commandoes under Prinsloo moved against Kim- 
berley, cutting off communication with the south by 
blowing up the bridge over Modder Spruit and de- 
stroying the railroad. The garrison under Colonel 
Kekewich speedily converted the debris heaps from 
the mines into formidable defences, wells were dug, 
and the city was prepared to resist stoutly, when 
Commandant Engelbracht first opened with his guns 
at the Wesselton mine, and cut off the water supply. 

Loboers occupied the Belmont district, expelling 
all loyalists, and reminding the Afrikanders that "the 
shirt was nearer the skin than the coat," — a curious 
argument for men who knew not the former. On 
the south the Colesburg district was occupied by the 
Rouxville commando under Rothman and annexed 
to the Free State. The six police at the Aliwal 



Invasion of the Colonies 

north bridge were captured, and, fearing it was 
mined, the magistrate, Mr. Hugo, and his assistant. 
Van E,eenen, were placed on the crossing while the 
burghers under Olivier passed over. Olivier with be- 
coming modesty changed the name of the town to 
Oliviersfontein, and the Free State was officially ex- 
tended to the Stormbergen with the presidential 
assurance, " This is the birth of the great Afrikander 
nation." 

In Basutoland, Sir Godfrey Lagden held the war- 
like tribes in check. In response to the call of the 
Basuto chief, Lerothodi, all chiefs but Joel came to- 
gether at Putiatsana and pledged their loyalty to the 
" Queen our Mother," and begged that they might 
help to fight her battles. Hundreds of Basutos, in- 
cluding Lerothodi's son, who in common with thou- 
sands of other protectorate natives were ordered from 
the Rand and robbed of all their earnings by the 
Boers, then arrived at Maseru and called on their 
brothers for revenge. Only the strenuous efforts of 
the Commissioner sustained Basuto neutrality and 
prevented fearful reprisals on Boer women on the 
isolated farms as a return for wilful and persistent 
iU-treatment, past and present. The destruction of 
the native ferry at Caledon Pont and several cattle 
raids only added to a resentment that might have 
cost the Boers dearly but for Lagden's efforts. 
Schalk Burger and the Vryheid burghers also in- 
vited native retaliation in Zululand by looting cattle 

89 



In South Africa with BuUer 

and sacking Ingwavuma and Ntuqu. In Swaziland 
the missionaries were ordered out, and the missions 
and farms of Britishers systematically looted. 

For the main army of the republics under Joubert 
a careful plan of campaign had been formulated: 
the Free State commandoes were ordered to advance 
by the Drakensberg passes to menace Ladysmith and 
keep General White employed. Joubert's army was 
then to move south in three divisions. His right, 
under Koch and Viljoen, would occupy a point on the 
roads and railway between Ladysmith and Dundee, 
thus cutting off communication and isolating Sym- 
ons. The centre division under Erasmus and the 
left under Meyer would overwhelm and annihilate 
the Dundee garrison, or drive it out toward Lady- 
smith, where its retreat was cut off by Koch. The 
Free Staters having attained their object in keeping 
White occupied would then move out to join a com- 
bination of the three divisions to overwhelm Lady- 
smith and sweep down to Durban and the sea. 

Early on October 12th a mixed column of Trans- 
vaal and Free State burghers moved through Botha's 
Pass on the right, into Natal. The left division ad- 
vanced from Wakkerstroom via Moll's Nek and 
Woldrift. The main column under Joubert crossed 
Laing's Nek toward Ingogo. When Joubert's lambs 
camped on the scene of their leader's early triumph, 
they invoked the aid of the God of battles in their 
cause. Released from this solemn service some of 

90 



Newcastle Occupied 

them gave vent to tlieir inherent bestiality by des- 
ecrating and defiling the graves of the British dead, 
buried where they fell after the defeat of Majuba. 
Had I not confirmed this from Boer prisoners, I 
would have omitted it as a canard ; but the hideous 
fact was the jest of the laager fires for many a night, 
though the old burghers disapproved of the action. 

Unwilling to precipitate hostilities, the Colonial 
Government had made no preparations to stay the 
advance. The tunnel under Laing's Nek could have 
been destroyed, the culverts blown up, and the rail- 
road then rendered useless to the Boers. As it was 
captured intact, they had its unimpeded use to bring 
up their supplies. It is incredible that even at the 
last moment something was not done to destroy the 
line. 

Newcastle was occupied on the night of the 14th, 
most of the inhabitants, including the Dominican 
nuns from their mission, being forced to leave the 
town. A storekeeper unfortunately named Chamber- 
lain was very roughly handled, and his house and 
store demolished. It is significant to note the action 
of several Dutch ^ loyalists here. Some openly defied 
and ridiculed the Boers. Old Jan Uys and Matt Vos 
replied to the address made to the colonists to take 
the oath of allegiance and join the Boers. They 

1 All loyal Dutchmen refusing to take up arms against the Queen 
■were -very severely handled. It is in accordance with Boer charac- 
ter to force a surrendered people to fight against their own side. 

91 



In South Africa with Buller 

pointed out that the people of Natal, British and 
Dutch, could become Uitlanders under Kruger or 
fight to remain the freest of men under the Queen. 
Uys challenged the commandant to single combat, in 
place of a general conflict. But these Britishers were 
arrested as traitors and sent to Pretoria. The loyal 
Dutch then fled, their homes being looted. 

Forces under Botha and Emmett moved toward 
Dundee and tore up the railroad there. True to 
their tryst, the Free Staters that day made a diver- 
sion from the Drakensburg passes, drawing out a 
portion of White's force toward Tintwa Pass and 
keeping Ladysmith on the continual qui vive while 
Joubert's army moved in from the north. 

General Symons was first apprised of the Boer 
advance by the cutting of the telegraph wires on the 
south on the 19th and the arrival of the mail train 
with the announcement that the Boers had occupied 
Elandslaagte as the express dashed through, and 
direct communications with Ladysmith were cut. 
The news of his rapid isolation was confirmed at sun- 
set, when cyclist scouts paced in and announced the 
enemy in force on the north and south of Dundee. 
Extra outposts were thrown out, but the camp slept 
soundly, no attack being anticipated for a clear day 
at least. But at 2.30 o'clock A. m. a picket of 
mounted infantry stationed on the road at Smith's 
Nek received a volley in response to their challenge, 
and reported a column of the enemy closing on the 

92 



Battle of Dundee 

town from that direction. The alarm sounded, and 
the Dublin Fusiliers moved out to support the picket 
but found no attempt made to force the road. 

Reveille was sounding at sunrise when, boom ! 
went a gun on the hills beyond Dundee, and the 
Boers in force were seen on the heights commanding 
the town. Lucas Meyer, filibuster, elder, and politi- 
cian, prompted by a desire for undivided honor and 
the kudos of first victory, had pressed across the 
Buffalo River with the left division of Joubert's 
army to capture Dundee before the main division 
should arrive. The hero of the Vryheid grab in 
touching gasconade told his burghers that the Lord 
had delivered the English Philistines into their 
hands. They must smite them hip and thigh. With 
the Utrech, Ermelo, and Vryheid commandoes he 
took up a strong position under cover of the dark- 
ness. With stupendous labor his men dragged three 
guns to the crest of Talana Hill, a precipitous spur of 
the Impati Mountain, running due north and south, 
and completely commanding the camp and town- 
ship. The burghers, intrenched on the rocky ridge 
and on a neighboring nek and kopje, expected after 
a preliminary bombardment to carry Dundee and 
Glencoe camp on both flanks. 

In the light of modern warfare such a position, 
held by 4,000 skilled riflemen, was impregnable to 
Symons' single brigade. As the Boer artillery 

93 



In South Africa with Buller 

opened on the camp and town, the British infantry 
turned out with alacrity, and the " Boots and sad- 
dles ! " of the field artillery and cavalry was rapidly 
supplemented by the rattle of the guns as they 
trotted smartly into position. In a few minutes the 
13th and 69th Batteries opened from ridges to the 
east of the town. The 67th remained in reserve with 
the Leicester regiment, but came into action in the 
plain below, and despite the elevation, joined effec- 
tively in raking the enemy's position. 

On the east of Dundee the ground slopes down a 
thousand yards to a donga, or river-bed. Beyond this 
the open valley, laid out in a farm, rises gradually to 
a belt of woods from which Talana rears itself, first 
in rough but moderate ascent for a thousand yards 
to a terrace and boundary wall, then steeply up, 
rugged, rocky, and precipitous as Majuba's face, to 
the crest held by the Boers. 

During the artillery duel Symons sheltered his 
infantry, the Rifles and Fusilier regiments, in the 
donga. For two hours the Boers shelled ineffectu- 
ally, sometimes replying to the British gunners, then 
dropping projectiles into the town, chiefly near the 
Swedish mission, temporarily the hospital. Their 
shells were faulty, however, and did not explode. 
Rumor had it that the fuses were set by two British 
sympathizers, serving from the one caisson on the 
, crest, and that the history of the friendly Egyptian 
gunners forced to serve the Khalifa's artillery against 

94 



Battle of Dundee 

Kitchener, was repeated ; but I am inclined to think 
shell made in Pretoria was nearer the truth. But 
at half-past seven De Jaeger's gunners had emp- 
tied their one ammunition wagon and ceased firing, 
though current history says that they were pounded 
into silence by the British. The field batteries then 
ceased as if by mutual consent, and Meyer, with 
Trichaardt, Grobler, Marias, and other leaders, secure 
in their stronghold, sat quietly to breakfast, their 
men making coffee behind the boulders, awaiting 
further shell for their guns. The process of annihi- 
lation was to be applied at leisure. 

The morning was drizzly and gray, but of that 
subdued light more effective than brilliant sun at 
distances under a league. The Boers suddenly de- 
scried six dark, spider-like creatures moving down 
toward the donga below them ; a similar group was 
moving forward in another direction; then the 
spiders dissolved themselves into two parts, the 
front half retiring and the tail end turning round. 
One, then another, belched flame and smoke ; the re- 
ports and the projectiles raced over madly. Those 
rooinek gunners were at it again — this time at 
closer range, and their shrapnel began to search out 
the rocks. Then, too, a long line of figures rose from 
the river bed, and breaking up into sections, advanced 
rapidly over the broken ground toward the hill. 

The burghers began to shoot, at first leisurely, for 
they never dreamed of direct assault from the de- 

95 



In South Africa with Buller 

spised British soldier. But though a few of the 
moving dots lay motionless on the plain below, the 
lines still surged forward and reached the wood at the 
base of the hill. " Less than two thousand infantry- 
storm a hill held by twice their number of skilled 
and sheltered riflemen ! " " No, the hated rooibatjes 
would never emulate Majuba." The burghers vol- 
leyed down into the trees for awhile, but then held 
their fire save when men moved over the valley 
below, succoring the wounded or carrying despatches. 
A Boer prisoner told me afterwards that the burgh- 
ers were so astounded at the assault that followed, 
that for a time some held their fire in sheer amaze- 
ment. 

General Symons was directing the operations in 
person. After giving orders for the assault to be 
pressed, he rode into the open to become a target 
for a hundred rifles, and fell, mortally wounded, as 
his bugles merrily rang out the advance. Like the 
hero of Quebec, he lay on the field until the cheers of 
victory reached his ears, and was then taken to the 
rear to die. His chief of staff, second staff officer, 
and two aids fell with their leader. 

Upwards now from the woods surged the lines of 
infantry, deploying rapidly, creeping forward from 
rock to rock in extended order. Continuous lines 
of fire ran along the crest overhead, the Mauser vol- 
leys sounding like the ripping of a Titanic carpet, 
the nickel-coated bullets whistling down the hillside 

96 



Battle of Dundee 

like a gale in the rigging, accentuated as by gibcats' 
mews when the jackets had spread through injury or 
intentional incision. At times the tiny pellets, 
ricochetting from the rocks, would cast their hard- 
ened coating with a vicious snap that raised the cry 
of explosive bullets, while at closer range old-fash- 
ioned burghers expended big-game ammunition and 
substantiated the charge. 

The pentacapsular clips of the Mauser permit a 
great rapidity of fire, but toiling painfully upward 
the British " Tommies " held grimly to their task, 
now firing at the hidden foe above, now crouching, 
now forward with a rush, squirming over or between 
the boulders, halting for volley or individual fire, 
then on again to the goal. Mid the crash of the 
Lee Metfords, the roar of the guns from the valley, 
the spluttering of the Maxims on the flank, and the 
firing enemy above, arose the cries of wounded, some 
cheering on their comrades, others groaning or curs- 
ing, while the pitiful advance was strewn with silent 
forms. 

At times the leading lines appeared to melt before 
the withering fire from the hilltop ; barbed- wire 
fences barred the way and claimed their victims ; but 
again and again, when the movement seemed checked, 
officers sprang in the lead with rallying cries, sup- 
porting companies filled the gaps, and the lines went 
steadily on. 

The Dublins, seeking cover in a nullah, were found 
7 97 



In South Africa with Buller 

by the unerring oblique fire of the enemy on the nek, 
and forced out, though only to continue upward in 
more extended order. Not until ten o'clock had the 
panting infantry reached the sheltering boundary wall 
running along the hillside : here they lay to recover 
their breath. A few of the Rifles clambered over the 
obstruction, but were immediately swept away, and 
for two hours the force hung on tenaciously, firing 
occasionally over the wall and exposed to an enfilade 
fire from the kopje. Then by some error in range 
British shrapnel were dropped among the Rifles, 
killing Lieutenant Hambro and three men and 
wounding several others. Sergeant Harrington, after 
vainly signalling " Cease fire !" went through a per- 
fect hell of bullets to notify the gunners of their 
mistake. 

Dawkins and King then limbered up to cover the 
final rush, and brought their batteries across the 
valley to the flank of the woods ; the Boers, taking 
advantage of the lull, turned to remove their guns 
to safety. For a moment the firing died away as if 
by mutual consent ; with a cheer the British troops 
were up and scaling the wall. A shattering maga- 
zine-fire swept from above, but leaving Colonel 
Sherstone and thirty-two other ofiicers and men dead 
and scores of wounded behind them, they swarmed 
over and up the precipitous five hundred feet with 
a resolution that could not be stayed. As they drew 
within point-blank distance the Boers, cleverly en- 

98 



Capture of Talana 

sconced behind cunningly arranged rocks, blazed away 
madly, and the British lines wavered for a moment. 
The Dublins, who were in the most favored position, 
had forged ahead, but crouched irresolute in the 
hail of bullets that assailed them from the ridge. 

It was the critical moment when victory and re- 
pulse were balanced. " Follow me. Rifles ! Sustain 
our reputation ! " shouted Colonel Gunning as he 
sprang up and led on the slow cruel charge 
against the almost perpendicular cliff. The gallant 
colonel fell riddled with bullets, but the Rifles 
swarmed over his body, fixing bayonets as they 
climbed. Captain Pechell stood erect to cheer them 
on, and fell shot through and through. The company 
officers also suffered severely, and thirteen in the 
Rifles alone were down ere the summit was reached. 
The Fusiliers, too, were sweeping upward, though 
three-fourths of their oflicers had fallen. For a 
breathing-spell the line halted below the immediate 
crest ; then with loud cheers the troops surged over 
against the enemy. 

The Boers had held their ground grimly, shooting 
from their rocky shelters until they saw the glint of 
steel coming toward them ; then with shouts of 
terror they dropped their rifles, dashed down the 
rear of the hill to their horses, and away. Majuba 
was reversed ! 

The rout was complete, the Transvaal vierhleur 
and Meyer's standard flapped disconsolately over the 

99 



In South Africa with Buller 

bodies of Melt Marais, Sassenberg, the Hollander 
Bergermaan, and forty dead, — a gruesome tribute to 
the dearly bought victory. Behind the position lay 
the Boer laager and seventy-one abandoned wounded. 
The burghers quickly hoisted white flags over their 
wagons in the valley, and the British bugles imme- 
diately sounded " Cease fire ! " Under cover of this 
the Boers galloped madly away, escaping the volleys 
which might have been poured from the captured 
hilltop. A field battery had galloped round the 
flank and also menaced the line of retreat when the 
" Cease fire ! " rang out. With tacit if Long Valley 
obedience the eager gunners fell back from their 
pieces rather than risk violation of an armistice, and 
while the oflicers rode madly over to obtain permis- 
sion to reopen fire the Boers galloped " across the 
guns " and disappeared among the hills. The white 
flag cannot cover retreat, and the Germans in France 
fired on it on more than one occasion when only 
isolated groups retreated from surrendered forces, 
even as they executed all civilians bearing arms 
against them. 

Just before the supreme moment at Talana, Boer 
commandoes were reported moving down the Dann- 
hauser Road against the other side of Dundee, 
where they expected to carry the town under cover 
of the battle. The Leicesters and the 67th Battery 
marched out and turned them, and they fell back 
in confusion as Meyer's force retreated. 

100 



Capture of the Hussars 

The 18th Hussars and mounted infantry were 
covering the flanks. Colonel MoUer led one 
squadron with the mounted Fusiliers to the north- 
west: Major Knox, namesake of the regiment's 
first colonel, with his squadron and the Rifles, 
moving out to menace the other flank. Major 
Marling took a third squadron beyond Talana's 
connecting nek, and by acting as a screen misled 
and checked a column from Newcastle sent to re- 
inforce by Erasmus. Moller and Knox both suc- 
ceeded in working round Meyer's flank, and 
harassed his retreat for some distance. But they 
were in turn cut off by the reinforcing column as 
it followed Meyer, and became heavily engaged on 
three sides. Knox by a long detour managed to 
disengage his squadron, but the remainder of the 
Hussars and the mounted infantry with Colonel 
Moller, Major Greville, and seven other officers 
were surrounded by a force ten times their su- 
perior, when attempting to save a disabled Maxim, 
and after a stout resistance they were forced to 
surrender. 

The 18th had laid a wager that they would be 
the first into Pretoria; they rapidly won it, and 
facetious " Tommy " has now dubbed them the 
Pretoria Horse. 



101 



CHAPTER V 

Elandslaagte. — TiNTWA Inyoni. — Yule's Retirement. — 
Pepworth Hill. — Ladysmith Invested. 

General Koch, keeper of the executive min- 
utes with the right wing of Joubert's army, had 
moved down the Biggarsberg Pass to cut com- 
munications between Symons and White, and on 
October 19 occupied Elandslaagte station, six- 
teen miles beyond Ladysmith. The Dundee ex- 
. press had just arrived when the advance guard 
under Veldt Cornet Pienaar entered the village. 
The burghers galloped into the depot to seize the 
train, and swarmed over the tracks, but the engi- 
neer sprang to the foot-plate, and amid a warm 
fusillade the express ploughed through its captors 
and away to Dundee, leaving Noel, the guard, and 
several astonished passengers on the platform. The 
station-master managed to telegraph Ladysmith 
that the station was captured, before he was de- 
tected, narrowly escaping summary execution for 
his temerity. 

Greatly enraged, the Boers made prisoners of 
every one in the vicinity, and turning the points to 
a siding, cleared the signal for the local train tak- 

102 



Elandslaagte 

ing stock and provisions to Dundee. The en- 
gineer ran his train unsuspectingly over the switch, 
and ere he could reverse the lever Boers were 
swarming on board, and he was bound and im- 
prisoned. A number of horses and cattle en route 
for Symons were captured, and the freight cars 
systematically looted. 

The Boer vanguard took possession of Elandslaagte 
during the afternoon. The column, 1,900 strong, was 
formed by the Krugersdorp and Johannesburg com- 
mandoes, the latter including the Hollander Vrywil- 
liger Corps. Attached were 300 Free Staters and a 
German contingent 80 strong under Colonel Schiel, 
with three guns and an ambulance under Visser. The 
Johannesburg commando under Dr. Coster, a talented 
Holland lawyer, and De Witt Hamer, an ex-Nether- 
land officer, represented the education and culture 
of the Transvaal : it comprised the officials and pro- 
fessional men of the republic, significantly the vast 
majority of foreign birth. Officers with Koch were 
his son, Judge Koch, notorious in the Edgar case, 
Landdrost Mare of Boksburg, the public prosecutor 
Von Leggelo, Count Zipplein, Ben Viljoen, Boden- 
stein of Krugersdorp fame, Pretorius, Vander-Welde, 
and many other prominent officials. 

The force first rounded up the British subjects in 
the vicinity. Mr. Harris, the manager of the Elands- 
laagte mines, anticipating the advance, had buried his 
blasting-powder and ammunition. With Mr. Innes, 

103 



In South Africa with Buller 

the proprietor, and forty mine workers he was made 
prisoner and the cash of the mine commandeered. 

The prisoners were placed in charge of Pienaar, who 
said that the people in Natal had fled as though the 
Boers were barbarians. " He hoped they would prove 
to the contrary." In the evening captors and captives 
held an impromptu smoking concert in the hotel 
parlor. Many of the burghers were drunk and fought 
among themselves, but if there was little discipline 
in their ranks there was an individuality that acted 
for a general purpose of defence, and guards were 
posted and pickets thrown out with the regularity 
of a trained force. 

On the following morning, after Koch had selected 
the most advantageous positions in the vicinity, he 
opened an examination of all prisoners, which he con- 
ducted with gravity while devouring mutton chops 
in his fingers, smoking his pipe, and expectorating 
between mouthfuls. 

The burghers amused themselves during the after- 
noon by dressing up in British uniforms captured on 
the train. Many of them had been drinking heavily 
from looted liquor, and some strove to pick a quarrel 
with the unarmed prisoners. Pienaar intervened, 
and calling in a guard of more sober burghers kept 
the threatening roysterers outside. 

In the midst of the carousal a patrol galloped in 
shouting, " Booinehs are coming ! " In five minutes 
every Boer had saddled up and the commando was 

104 



Elandslaagte 

riding over the veldt to the selected position. But 
the attack did not develop. 

When Koch had severed communications between 
Dundee and Ladysmith he had forgotten that a wire 
also ran via Helpmaaker to Maritzburg, and Symons 
was thus able to inform White of his victory and 
the force blocking direct communications. General 
French, who had only arrived from England on the 
previous day, was at once sent out from Ladysmith to 
make a reconnaissance in force. In a pouring rain the 
mud had severely retarded his artillery and infantry, 
but the cavalry advanced to the flag station at Modder 
Spruit, where they sighted the enemy at Elandslaagte. 
As the day was advancing a squadron of the 5th 
Lancers pushed forward alone to reconnoitre. They 
surprised and captured a Boer outpost, and having 
located the enemy fell back, and the whole force 
returned to Ladysmith. 

The Boer patrol that had first reported the British 
advance was jeered at for giving a false alarm, and 
Koch's burghers returned to camp. The evening was 
spent in singing: the Boers of the old school, the 
Transvaal "Podsnaps," gathered to intone doleful 
psalms, while the younger generation crowded the 
hotel canteen, drinking and joining the prisoners in a 
sing-song " God save the Queen " and " Rule 
Britannia," mingling with " Wij Leven Vrij," " Wil- 
helmus van Nassouwe," and the " Volkslied." 

On the following morning (Saturday, Oct. 21), 
105 



In South Africa with Buller 

scouts again announced the approach of the British^ 
and the commandoes, rudely awakened by a couple of 
shells, thundered half-dressed to the kopjes some 
distance from the railroad, leaving their British 
prisoners in the village with a small guard, which a 
squadron of Light Horse later surprised and forced 
to change rSles. 

General French had moved out at daybreak to 
make a further reconnaissance, with a company of the 
Manchesters in an armored train, the Imperial Light 
Horse and Natal volunteer battery moving by road 
to support. Finding Elandslaagte strongly occupied, 
the battery came into action on the edge of a table- 
land overlooking the settlement. But the Boers 
manned their guns with surprising rapidity, and the 
two ranging shots of the German gunners under Cap- 
tain Schultz plumped right into the Colonials. A team 
was doubled up, a limber smashed, and the puny Natal 
7-pounders were outranged and forced to withdraw. 

Shells also fell round the train, while a strong force 
of the enemy appeared in rear, making strenuous 
efforts to tear up the line. They were dispersed, 
however, by a rapid advance of the Light Horse, and 
train and guns retired to Modder Spruit. As General 
French took a final survey of the position, a pro- 
jectile was neatly dropped into the midst of the staff, 
though a tardy time-fuse burst the shell after it was 
imbedded, and dirt was vomited in place of shrapnel 
bullets. 

106 



The Battle Opens 

At Modder Spruit, the telegraph wire was tapped, 
and French was soon connected with White, who 
promised to send reinforcements immediately to 
attack the enemy. At midday Colonel King arrived 
at the front with the 5th Lancers. The 21st and 
42d Field Batteries galloped out with augmented 
teams, and a squadron of 5th Dragoons and the Natal 
mounted volunteers. Escorted by the armored train, 
half-battalions of the Manchester and Devonshire 
regiments arrived by rail. Later, half of the Gordon 
Highlanders and the remainder of the Devons 
detrained. 

The cavalry found strong Boer pickets on a long 
ridge running almost due east and west beyond 
Modder Spruit, but after desultory skirmishing these 
outposts fell back. At 3 P. m. the infantry advanced 
over a hill to the right of the railroad, the artillery 
and cavalry passing round on either flank. Beyond, 
a green sloping valley led up to a long hogs'-back, 
steep and rocky, with a mass of boulders piled inde- 
scribably at the base, and a stubborn succession of 
rock -strewn ridges on the frowning face. 

As the British appeared on the high ground the flash 
of the opening guns revealed the main position of the 
enemy, who were intrenched on a rounded eminence 
rising from the extremity of the hog's-back, and along 
the nek that joined the mamelon to a succeeding 
kopje, also strongly occupied. The position was ideal 
for the Boer system of defence. A frontal attack 

107 



In South Africa with Buller 

could be met by frontal and oblique fire, and the diffi- 
cult approaches to both flanks were commanded, — 
the broken kopjes on the right, and the rock-strewn 
ridge of the hog's-back along which any turning 
movement on the left flank must come. 

On the extreme left the Lancers, Light Horse, and 
Natal volunteers had cleared out a flanking party of 
Boers skulking behind a wall, and then became en- 
gaged with the Free State commando with Maxims, 
which were soon silenced by carbine fire, the party 
retiring half-heartedly, one of their deserters saying 
that they were commandeered in an unwilling war, 
and did not mean to fight a traditional friend for 
Kruger and Steyn. This commando did nothing fur- 
ther to aid their Transvaal brothers. 

The Boer artillery then commenced to shell the 
deploying infantry, until the 21st Battery galloped 
into action, and after sustaining some loss in a duel 
of seven minutes' duration, silenced the guns at 2,800 
yards. The 42d Battery also heavily shelled the po- 
sition preparatory to the infantry attack. A heavy 
thunder-storm was raging during the initial evolu- 
tions, and since the evening promised to come in 
early gloom, the artillery preliminaries were curtailed 
to enable the infantry assault before dark. 

The Lancers, Light Horse, and Natal volunteers 
with their battery, covered the right flank, where the 
Manchesters, supported by the Gordons, clambered 
up the hog's-back to advance down the ridge on the 

108 



Battle of Elandslaagte 

flank. The Devons moved against the direct front, 
with the Dragoons and volunteers on the extreme 
left. Sir George White arrived on the field at 4 p.m., 
but magnanimously refused to take over the com- 
mand from his subordinate, and the honors of the 
day rest with French. The infantry were under the 
personal direction of Colonel Ian Hamilton, a sur- 
vivor of Majuba. 

The British guns had pounded the enemy heavily 
with shrapnel, and the plucky attempts of the German 
gunners to reopen were unsuccessful ; but the shower 
of shells did not apparently lessen the terrific rifle- 
fire that was poured into the valley. At 4.45 the 
Devons advanced in extended order, meeting a 
withering fire with great steadiness as they pressed 
over the broken ground. Major Park extended 
three companies into a firing line of 500 yards, 
about 1000 yards from the enemy. They obtained 
some shelter among the sunbaked ant-hills in places, 
and " dead ground " saved two companies from 
annihilation. 

The Boers missed the red coats of the British 
army and found the new f angled khaki a difficult 
target, but their bullets swept a large zone. Major 
Currie with the reserves threw men rapidly forward 
to replace casualties, and then augmented the firing 
line, which crept slowly to within 800 yards of the 
enemy. Laxity in the British territorial system may 
have placed sons of Cork and London in the Devon 

109 



In South Africa with Duller 

ranks, but as the regiment lay exposed to a gall- 
ing fire, engaging the front while the flank attack 
developed, they well sustained the reputation of the 
" countrie " of the Leighs and Ridds. 

Meanwhile the Manchesters and Gordons had suc- 
ceeded in scrambling up the hog's-back. They were 
joined by the Uitlander Light Horse, who voluntarily 
dismounted and joined in the charge. Many of these 
men had settled permanently on the Rand, and had 
lost their all when expelled by Kruger; theirs in- 
deed was a fight for home and liberty, in the country 
of their adoption, while wives and children were 
homeless and destitute. 

Though these forces were at first covered by a dip 
leading to the main plateau, a withering fire swept 
the entire length of the ridge as they poured over the 
boulders on the crest. A thousand yards beyond 
them rose the mamelon, an objective that com- 
manded every step of the advance along the hill- 
top. In face of that fire, with their path strewn with 
rocks slippery with rain and hail, and successive 
barbed fences barring the way, a superior force was 
to be assaulted in an intrenched position. Many 
young soldiers' faces blanched, but there was no 
hesitation. 

For sentimental reasons, the Highlanders had re- 
tained their sporrans and kilts, which made them a 
distinct mark for the enemy : sentiment contributed 
many widows and orphans to the banks and braes of 

110 



Battle of Elandslaagte 

Scotland ere the day was done. At first tlie Gordons 
were in support, but owing to the irregularity of the 
ground to be traversed, regiments and companies 
became mixed and the movement evolved into a 
retarded but eager race forward. Scrambling, slip- 
ping, crouching, from rock to rock, firing individu- 
ally or in volleys of mutual agreement, Gordons, 
Manchesters, and Light Horse fought their way on. 
Men were swept away as they clambered across the 
ridges, but the others went over the prostrate bodies. 

The Tommies now were fighting mad, and, paying 
little heed to the dead and wounded, they pressed 
recklessly onward; the individuality of the soldier 
was in the ascendent and it was not found wanting. 

Two-thirds of the distance passed — two-thirds of 
the officers down. A stout barbed fence checked 
the advance ; the Boers stood up fearlessly and blazed 
into the serried mass of men, but dropped to cover 
again as the obstacle was surmounted and the 
uncontrollable wave of khaki swept toward them. 
Of the Gordons, Colonel Cunyngham and Major 
Wright went down early in the fight, and of the 
other officers but four were left to lead the regiment, 
toward the finish, and two of these, subalterns, were 
wounded. The Manchesters had lost their colonel 
and many officers and men. 

Colonel Scott-Ohisholme of the Light Horse was 
next wounded ; raising himself to cheer on his men, 
he sank again with two bullets in his brain. Major 

111 



In South Africa with Buller 

Sampson, the ex-reformist, and eight other volunteer 
officers had also fallen at this juncture. But the de- 
pleted forces were close in now, and fixed bayonets. 

In desperation the Boers pumped their red-hot 
Mausers at point-blank range and cried in English, 
" Retire ! " A treacherous bugle also sounded the order, 
and the panting soldiers halted irresolute in the con- 
fusion of the battle and the gathering darkness. The 
last note was faulty, but the men were wavering and 
the enemy's fire was redoubled. " Charge ! charge ! 
for God's sake, charge ! " shouted Major Denne of the 
Gordons, springing in the lead and sinking limply, 
shot through the heart. Drum-major Laurence dash- 
ing forward sounded the charge and rally. Pipe- 
major Dunbar strode over the rocks skirling the 
Gordon pibroch. He soon fell, but the troops had 
rallied, and with a loud cheer the first position was 
rushed. 

Advocate Coster was killed as he attempted to 
gather his Hollanders, and other Boer leaders fear- 
lessly exposed themselves, exhorting the burghers to 
stand; but nothing could stay the onslaught of the 
British. A line of devoted burghers fired to the 
last, but they were flung back before the charge like 
tennis-balls, and there was no rebound. 

The Devons' bugles in the valley were now ring- 
ing cheerily, their long checked impetuosity was 
loosed, and with fixed bayonets they dashed up the 
front of the position. Pandemonium reigned for a 

112 



Battle of Elandslaagte 

minute. There was a rush of kilt and khaki; the 
enemy on the mamelon resisted stoutly, but amid the 
rattle of their magazine fire, rallying cries in Taal, 
British cheers of exultation and the yells and screams 
of the wounded, the Devons closed in on the front, and 
the flanking battalions swept the Boers from the nek 
with bayonets and butt-end. 

F Company, the Devons, under Lieutenant Field, 
went straight at the guns. Three German gunners, 
enfants ^erdus, sprang to the pieces and prepared to 
fire into the British ranks as the Hollanders turned 
and fled down the hill. One gunner fell before 
Field's revolver as these devoted soldiers of fortune 
loaded, another was shot as he prepared to fire, and 
the third was bayonetted as the Devons swept in. 
Mercenaries ? Yes, but brave men. 

Struggling, stumbling down the hillside, the Boers 
fled pell-mell, some screaming with terror in their mad 
efforts to escape the cold steel. Their horses were 
tethered in the laager below, and as the seething mass 
of burghers ran toward them the slaughter would 
have been terrible had the British disregarded the 
white flag. Highlanders and Manchesters had swept 
down toward the laager to complete the rout, on the 
hill other companies were refilling their emptied 
magazines to mow down the fugitives, when a large 
white flag was hoisted over the wagons. Dozens of 
Boers also were holding up their hands, and another 
flag waved frantically on the further kopje. From 
8 113 



In South Africa with Buller 

tents behind whicli the horses were tethered, a Red 
Cross flag was displayed. Significantly the enemy 
had screened their means of retreat by the Geneva 
convention. 

Colonel Hamilton and his staff rushed in front of 
their men and ordered them to stop firing ; the bugles 
rang out the " Cease fire ! " " They surrender ! they 
surrender ! " shouted the eager soldiers as they lowered 
their rifles and started across the open ; then a wither- 
ing fire burst on them from the further kopje, a ridge 
behind the nek, and from the laager itself, mowing 
down the exposed men in dozens. The " surrendered " 
burghers reached their horses and rode off in the con- 
fusion, as the enraged soldiers fell back to cover with 
heavy loss. After replying to the renewed volleys, 
they again rushed in with the bayonet, clearing the 
remaining position and ending resistance. Under 
the laws of war the Boers had violated the white flag 
and deserved no mercy. I do not think, however, 
that the subterfuge was prearranged. The individ- 
uality of the burghers rather condones the apparent 
treachery, though after Dundee and Elandslaagte the 
British could not have been blamed had they 
adopted similar tactics, or disregarded the white flag 
as indicating surrender. 

Daylight now faded rapidly, but the cavalry 
who had been champing impatiently on the flanks 
had ridden round the hill when they heard the 
cheers of victory, and a rush of horsemen through 

114 



Aftermath of the Battle 

the gathering night told them their turn had come. 
As the Boers galloped madly toward Wesset's Nek, 
from the reverse of the captured position a clatter 
of hoofs and scabbards burst on their frightened 
ears. They turned and fired as they rode, but the 
heavier British cavalry bore them to the earth, 
going through and through the disorganized ranks 
with lance and sabre until the commandoes were 
scattered and the rout complete. 

Pitch darkness reigned on the battlefield when 
the bugles sounded the rally, and company officers 
vainly strove to collect their forces. " All hands 
search for wounded ! " The worn-out soldiers 
responded with alacrity. Groans and cries for 
help, in English and Taal, arose in the darkness. 
The soldiers, from breathing out threatenings and 
slaughter against the Boers, became their Good Sa- 
maritans. " Majuba avenged ! " had been their 
cheer of victory, and now by tending the wounded 
enemy they heaped coals of fire on the race who 
in '81 had left the British wounded to die on the 
veldt. Tommy Atkins, to those who know him, 
is like a big-hearted, rough, generous schoolboy. 
His solicitation for his wounded foe, the foe whose 
pluck he had now learned to respect, is a touch- 
ing tribute to the British private. 

On the hillside Bennet, Burleigh, and Nevinson, 
the war correspondents, found old General Koch 

115 



In South Africa with Buller 

mortally wounded. A mattress was at once sent, 
and as he was too ill to be moved, a tarpaulin was 
rigged over Mm. Near-by lay his son. Judge Koch, 
and Count Zipplein, sorely wounded. De Jong, 
of the Educational Department, and Dr. Coster 
were among the killed. Joubert's grand-nephew 
and many of the prominent officials were wounded 
severely. Sixty-four dead Boers were found on 
the hill ; the cavalry charge accounted for as 
many more. Three hundred prisoners were taken, 
including the ex-German officer Schiel, Von Leg- 
gelo, the detective De Villiers, Dewithaker of the 
Raad, De Witt Hamer, Figulus, young Cronje, 
Findall, Wagner, and many other notables. Of 
these prisoners one third were wounded. The ag- 
gregate British loss was 247, the officers in large 
proportion. The Gordons headed the list with a 
loss of 26 per cent rank and file, but 78 per cent 
of the regimental officers had fallen. 

The worn-out troops formed a bivouac in the 
Boer laager, where wagon-loads of loot from North 
Natal were recaptured, with the arms and equip- 
ment of an entire commando. The night was bit- 
terly cold, and a heavy rain turned the ground 
into a swamp. But pouches and blankets were 
cheerfully relinquished for the wounded, Boer and 
Briton, and four Highlanders were lifted from the 
solitary fire, sustained by ration boxes, because 
four Boers, wounded by shrapnel, " needed it worse 

116 



Aftermath of the Battle 

than us." Fresh, water was scarce also, and gen- 
erous " Tommy " moved among the wounded 
enemy with "All I've got left, chum!" and many 
gave up the chance to rest, and generously aided 
Dr. Davies and his assistants in caring for the 
wounded. Many of these lay among the rocks 
undiscovered until daylight, some unfortunately 
to perish from exposure. 

Dr. Bonnyhrook of the Colonial service and Rev. 
A. J. Andrews, chaplain of the Natal Rifles, on 
Sunday morning followed the Boer line of retreat 
for seven miles, tending those who had fallen hy 
the wayside exhausted from wounds. They met 
twenty-five armed but famished burghers who ab- 
jectly surrendered to the doctor, believing the 
Boer cause lost. 

All the wounded were taken to Ladysmith, ac- 
commodation being found for them in the town- 
hall, the churches, and in tents on the cricket 
ground. The Boer prisoners were sent by train 
to Durban, and thence shipped to Cape Town. 

The moral effect of the costly victory of Elands- 
laagte was great. From henceforth the Boer 
learned to respect the British soldier, having proved 
the fallacy of his contempt engendered at Majuba 
and Krugersdorp. But the battle gained little 
material benefit, since De Wet's command moved 
in and occupied the town two days later, and 
fixed on the burial party sent with Inspector 

117 



In South Africa with Buller 

Petley to inter the British and Boer dead, driving 
them back to Ladysmith. Boer character is com- 
plex ; hospital corps, burial detail, all are rooineks, 
and as such must be destroyed, is the argument 
of the average farmer. But after a strong protest 
by the prisoner Judge Koch to Joubert, the in- 
terment was allowed. 

The object of the attack at Elandslaagte to reopen 
communications with Dundee and relieve pressure 
on that side was but partly accomplished; but the 
trend of events in Natal proved how shamefully 
ignorant were the British authorities as to the mili- 
tary strength and preparation of the republics. The 
mobilization of troops at Dundee, so near the border, 
had furnished a plausible excuse to the Transvaal 
for declaring war. Strategically the position was 
of small importance, and its communications were 
menaced from the Drakensberg passes the moment 
the Free State threw in its lot with the Transvaal. 
The coal fields were of value to the colony, but 
so greatly had the initiative of the enemy been 
underrated that even the victories of Talana Hill 
and Elandslaagte failed to jiistify the maintenance 
of the position. 

While General French was assailing Elandslaagte, 
and the Dundee forces were resting after their 
victory, the main Boer forces for which Meyer should 
have waited before risking assault, closed in. In 

118 



Retreat of the Dundee Column 

the afternoon a 40-poiinder commenced to shell the 
camp from the liills north of Dundee. General 
Yule, who had succeeded General Symons, despatched 
the field batteries to reply to the gun, but other 
pieces of heavy calibre were turned against them, 
and they accomplished little in the unequal duel. 

At sunset the troops occupied a position beyond the 
town prepared to withstand a night attack, but they 
returned to camp at daybreak, where they received 
the cheering news of the Elandslaagte victory. 
General Yule at once sent his cavalry to intercept 
fugitives moving down the Ladysmith road. The 
Hussars' became engaged, however, with a fresh 
column, and retired as the Boers again began to 
shell the camp and town. Erasmus and Vegan had 
now joined Joubert, and scouts reported the enemy 
in force and closing on Dundee on all sides. The 
inhabitants had fled to Rowan's farm, remembering 
Boer outrages in the previous war, and since 12,000 
Boers were now menacing 3,000 British, General 
Symons, who was rapidly sinking, advised Yule to 
endeavor to save the command from annihilation 
by retiring to Ladysmith, leaving him and the 
wounded behind. 

It was finally determined to retreat by a circuitous 
route via Beith, and under cover of the night the 
force evacuated camp, leaving lighted candles in the 
empty tents, and camp-fires blazing to mislead the 
Boers. The Rifles, under Major Campbell, acted as 

119 



In South Africa with Buller 

the advance guard, Colonel Dartnell of the Natal 
police guiding the troops. By continuous marching 
the column on Monday afternoon reached the en- 
trance of the Waschbank Pass, tlirough which the 
road crosses the Biggarsberg Range. The enemy 
was known to be in the vicinity, and surprise here 
meant annihilation. A spy had been caught helio- 
graphing at Inyiti, but apparently his message mis- 
carried, and after a short halt a second night-march 
brought the force safely through the defile to the 
"Waschbank River, where the exhausted troops bivou- 
acked for rest on Tuesday morning. 

Joubert did not discover that Yule had withdrawn 
through his faulty picket lines, until midday on 
Monday. He then detached a large force to cut off 
the British column in the Biggarsberg. Though 
his advance was retarded by worn-out infantry and 
transport, the mobile burghers failed to overtake 
Yule, until his force had reached the open country 
beyond. Here the Boers showed their traditional 
hatred of fighting out of cover, and did not attempt 
an attack. 

Keen anxiety prevailed in Ladysmith for Yule's 
force. Scouts having reported a strong commando 
again occupying Elandslaagte, White, on Tuesday, 
October 24th, moved out toward Modder Spruit, in- 
tending to bivouac near the cross-roads to facilitate 
Yule's retirement. His force, an infantiy brigade 
(2d King's Royal Rifles, Devons, Gloucesters, and 

120 



Battle of Tinta Inyoni 

Liverpools) supported by the 42d and 53d Field and 
loth Mountain Batteries, R. A., the 5th Lancers, 
19th Hussars, Imperial Light Horse, and Natal Rifles, 
4500 in all, halted at Modder Spruit at 8 A. m. The 
enemy developed in force at Rietfontein, however, 
menacing the direct road to Dundee, and the Beith 
route on the line of Yule's march. They disclosed 
their main position on Mattowan Hoek by dropping 
shells into a resting battery on the Newcastle road. 

The British gunners rapidly came into action be- 
yond the railroad, and though well-ranged shell from 
the hill inflicted some loss on the artillery and 
cavalry, the . Boer guns were soon pounded into 
silence. The enemy presented an irregular front on 
the steep sides of the Tinta Inyoni and Mattowan 
Hoek, along the connecting nek, and among the 
broken kopjes and ridges at the base of the hills. 
The old-fashioned farmers of the Heidelberg and 
Potchefstroom commandoes under De Wet, had dis- 
carded the Mauser with contempt, crediting the new- 
fangled rifle with the previous defeats. Crouching 
behind the innumerable boulders over the wide 
hillsides, with unerring Martini-Henrys, they sus- 
tained an effective individual fire, making a difficult 
and extended target despite the smoke from their 
cartridges. 

With the batteries the Liverpools and Gloucesters 
advanced in extended order against a high ridge 
facing the hills, driving back the enemy from the 

121 



In South Africa with Buller 

outlying positions. The Devons were in support, 
the Rifles moving over to the left flank, where 
the Light-Horse were heavily engaged early in the 
battle. The regular cavalry cleared a commando 
out of the valley on the right, that was waiting to 
assail the British rear guard, and forced them back 
to Mattowan, the 53d battery heavily shelling the 
fugitives as they retired across the open. The 
irrepressible Colonials on the extreme flank by 
Modder Spruit station drove in the enemy on that 
side. This combined attack caused a general con- 
centration of the burghers on their main position on 
the higher slopes of the two eminences, and on a 
kopje rising from the nek that connected them. 
Here they commanded the entire British line from 
an unassailable position, but they were severely 
restricted by the continuous shower of shrapnel 
from the ridge below. 

The Devons were sent forward to augment the 
firing line, and while the mountain guns shelled the 
riflemen swarming among the boulders on Mattowan, 
the 53d battery raked the kopje and lower ridges, 
the 42d partially silencing a terrific but individual 
rifle fixe from the tall summit of Tinta Inyoni. 

An assault on such an extensive position was 
beyond question for White's slender forces. Even 
had the single brigade successfully stormed the 
mountainous eminences, the enemy, while leaving 
enough men to sustain a stout resistance, could have 

122 



Battle of Tinta Inyoni 

detached a force sufficient to menace the guns and 
break communications with Ladysmith until the wait- 
ing Free Staters had advanced from their passes 
against the town. The operations also were planned 
only to clear the road and act as a diversion to cover 
Yule's retreat. For some unexplained reason, how- 
ever, taking advantage of the slackened firing, the 
Gloucesters swept beyond the ridge into the open. 
They instantly became the target for every Boer 
rifle in range, and were forced to fall back to cover, 
leaving Colonel Wilford and a tenth of their num- 
ber on the field. The medical staff, though exposed 
to continuous fire from the indiscriminating enemy, 
then brought in the wounded successfully, the 
Hindoo dhooUe carriers behaving with conspicuous 
gallantry. 

Despite recent rains, the veldt was lit by bursting 
shrapnel and burned fiercely at midday. Boer 
resistance then gradually subsided. But under 
cover of the smoke a large force was attempting to 
work round the extreme flank to cut off White 
from Ladysmith, and only the watchfulness of the 
Colonials saved the British from an awkward devel- 
opment. The Volunteers, recalled hurriedly from 
the Spruit, cantered round sharply, and covered by 
a ridge on the southern end of the valley outflanked 
the flankers and opened with carbine and Maxim. 
Assisted by the Rifles they drove the enemy back 
to Tinta Inyoni, while the Liverpools and Devons 

123 



In South Africa with Buller 

extended, encompassing the front and flanks with a 
thin line. 

After the failure of their counter manoeuvre, par- 
ties of the enemy were seen retiring, however. Their 
fire was gradually reduced to the crackling of reso- 
lute sharpshooters hiding in the rocks, until at 2.30 
resistance ended and the fight flickered out. White, 
having received definite news of Yule, then with- 
drew his forces, and occupied salient points along 
the line of retreat of the Dundee column. Through 
faulty communications, the Volunteers were left on 
the extreme flank and were heavily engaged by the 
baffled but by no means defeated enemy. They 
extricated themselves with difficulty and retired on 
Lady smith. 

After practically continuous service night and day 
from the opening of Friday morning's fight at Dun- 
dee, Yule's worn-out force was preparing to bivouac 
on the Waschbank River, when they heard the guns 
open at Eietfontein. The mounted troops were at 
once despatched to attempt to take the Boers in rear, 
but another squadron of the diminished Hussars was 
cut off and surrounded, though after continuous fight- 
ing they finally reached Ladysmith. 

Unfortunately, a heavy storm had swelled the Sun- 
day River to a torrent that the column could not cross. 
During the enforced halt the commandoes retiring 
from the Rietfontein engagement passed perilously 

124 



The Retreat from Dundee 

close to, but without discovering, Yule's camp, where 
the column lay sleeping beneath the torrent of the 
opened heavens. The British pickets wisely held 
their fire, for the force was in no condition for a 
pitched battle. On Wednesday the flood had sub- 
sided, and the column crossed the river with the loss 
of a single wagon ; and again marching the entire 
night to get beyond the mysterious enemy, Yule's 
advance guard was soon in touch with the Border 
Rifles. The rest of their line of march was covered, 
and they reached Ladysmith on Thursday morning. 

Their march will go down to history. Remember, 
without a square meal they had fought on Friday, 
marched and skirmished on Saturday, passed the 
night and Sunday under arms, marched all Sunday 
night, all day on Monday, with but a short rest 
before another march through Monday night and 
well into Tuesday morning. Then part of the force 
had operated against the enemy toward Rietfontein, 
others performing continuous picket duty during the 
stormy bivouac on Tuesday night, when fires could 
not be lighted. The column had come straight on 
through the last thirty-four miles of mud all day on 
Wednesday and through Wednesday night well into 
Thursday morning, when they reached Ladysmith. 

The soggy soil of South Africa had caked round their 
feet and legs, adding pounds in weight to each step, 
retarded a hundredfold by the suction of the slough 
through which they marched. No wonder the men 

125 



In South Africa with Buller 

moved into town dejectedly, until tlie frantic clieers 
of soldier and civilian threw spirit into the lagging 
bodies and fire into the bloodshot eyes. Their heads 
were then thrown proudly up, their steps became 
regular and brisk, and they swung into camp as 
though on C. O.'s parade. 

Their brother " Tommies " stood by, eager to help, 
and as the " dismiss " rang out, rifles and equipment 
were seized, and the haggard, mudcaked men were 
dragged off by their delighted comrades to a hearty 
breakfast. But most were too tired to eat ; they soon 
di'opped on the ground in sheer weariness, the garri- 
son scraping the mud from the hidden putties and 
removing chafing boots from feet raw as beef with 
much marching. 

Not until midday on Monday, had the Boers dis- 
covered that Dundee was evacuated. During the 
morning, despite the flag, they dropped shell into 
the field hospital among the abandoned wounded. 
Erasmus had been told that the captured wounded of 
Meyer's force had been dragged behind the British 
guns. He was surprised to find them in cots side by 
side with the wounded soldiers he had so brutally 
shelled. At midday an armed party galloped into 
the town, abusing the few townspeople who had 
remained, and seizing horses and aujrthing that took 
their individual fancy. Mrs. Weir, one of the Red 
Cross nurses, was brutally kicked by one truculent 
brute. 

126 



Death of General Symons 

Later in the day a more disciplined detachment 
under Zuderberg arrived and hoisted the fourcolor 
over the court house. The field cornet assured the 
inhabitants that all property would be respected, 
but he must commandeer provisions for his force. 
This also included the liquor from the stores ; the 
burghers were soon tipsy and out of hand, and a 
general looting of the town started. The contents 
of houses and stores were thrown out into the road, 
each man loading his horse with what he needed. 
Weighed down with plunder they retired at sunset, 
passing the hospital jeering and cursing the English. 

Within, General Symons was slowly dying. Prac- 
tically a prisoner, separated from the command he 
had led to victory, humiliated by the Boer mani- 
festations that stirred the soldier spirit living un- 
daunted in the maimed, suffering body, his last 
moments were of pathetic interest. At home the 
whole country was applauding his gallant fight ; he 
lay dying in the enemy's hands. As the sun was 
setting, with the cries of the burghers ringing in his 
ears, the brave soldier died as he had lived. 

When the looters disappeared a guard of stolid old 
burghers took charge of the town, a magistrate was 
appointed, and order enforced. General Symons was 
buried next morning in the little English church- 
yard. The Rev. Mr. Bagley held a short service, but 
" not a drum was heard, nor a funeral note ; not a sol- 
dier discharged a farewell shot." The body, shrouded 

127 



In South Africa with Buller 

in a Union Jack that had escaped the enemy's 
notice, had but few mourners, medical officers and 
civilians, and a few respectful burghers, but a nation's 
sympathy has gone out to that lonely grave in Africa, 
and though little he recks it, the laurels of a nation's 
gratitude rest on the tomb. A touch of nature makes 
the world akin. Brave old Joubert, when he found 
a cabled message from Lady Symons among the 
General's papers, at once sent a despatch expressing 
his sympathy to the widow. 

In the afternoon the residue of Meyer's defeated 
force returned to the town, bursting with revenge for 
their defeat of Friday. The Boer town guard was 
impotent, the looting of the stores was completed; 
the burghers drank up a quantity of liquor they 
discovered, and assumed so threatening an attitude 
that the few English who had remained in the 
houses, left the town. Some of these were cap- 
tured, and after a rough mauling and the sugges- 
tion of summary execution to save trouble, they were 
dragged off as spies to General Meyer, who was 
camped several miles away. He at once set them 
at liberty with apologies. 

But loyalists of Dutch extraction who refused to 
join the Boer forces were held as traitors. One 
family, the Van Liebenbergs, noted for their loyalty, 
were seized on their farm, which was looted and 
wrecked. The father and the son of fifteen were 
first flogged, then sent to Pretoria. The wife and 

128 



Investment of Ladysmith 

daughters were placed in their wagon and isolated 
in the centre of the Boer commando, closely guarded 
night and day, the girls being frequently insulted. 
They were then turned adrift without food, leaving 
amid a shower of stones with notice from the com- 
mandant to clear to the British soldiers, whose 
mistresses they were only fit to become. This pro- 
British Dutch lady is a distant connection of the 
Steyns. 

Over three hundred fugitives, many of them 
women and children, had fled from Dundee as the 
Boers approached. Travelling in constant rain and 
without food or shelter, they suffered terribly on 
the long tramp to Ladysmith, though they were not 
molested by the Boer patrols. Some, however, per- 
ished from hunger on the way, and many were saved 
from absolute starvation by British scouting parties, 
who cheerfully gave up their scanty rations. 

Having failed in his objective at Dundee, Joubert 
led his entire force toward Ladysmith, the Free 
State commandoes pouring from the passes to assist 
in the investment. General White found his now 
augmented command too worn to strike an immediate 
blow at the enemy. He has been severely blamed 
for not using his cavalry more at this juncture, but 
men and horses were utterly exhausted, and required 
at least a few hours' rest. On October 27th, he at- 
tempted to draw a Transvaal commando located at 
Lombard's Kop, but the enemy who held Dewaal's 
9 129 



In South Africa with Buller 

farm were not engaged until nearly sunset. He biv- 
ouacked to renew the attack at daybreak; but the 
Boers withdrew in the night, under Joubert's explicit 
orders not to risk further battle until the forces were 
completely mobilized. On the 28th, General French 
made a reconnaissance in force toward Mount Bul- 
whana, which in every-day parlance means that he 
marched out to surprise the enemy, and finding the 
attack impractical, withdrew with information more 
or less useful. 

On Sunday, the 29th, Major Heath from a balloon 
located the enemy busily intrenching on Pepworth 
Hill, placing guns on its flat summit to bombard 
Ladysmith. Reconnaissance showed that fresh com- 
mandoes had occupied other hills in the vicinity. In 
their stupendous ignorance of Boer resources, the 
authorities had not dreamed of the complete invest- 
ment of Ladysmith, and they had little numerical 
conception of the invading forces. During the after- 
noon the famous " Long Tom " commenced to shell 
the town, and White determined to assault the posi- 
tion at daybreak, hoping with his entire force to re- 
peat his previous successes. 

Scouts having reported a wide gap between the 
Transvaalers at Pepworth and the Free Staters, 
Colonel Carleton with the 1st Gloucesters, 1st Royal 
Irish Fusiliers, and 10th Mountain Battery was de- 
spatched on Sunday night to pass between the two 
forces in the darkness, and hold a hill from which 

130 



Disaster of Nicholson's Nek 

the Boer line of retreat would be threatened and the 
Free Staters kept from the left flank of the main 
column. 

With Major Adye of the staff, the little column 
marched out at 10 P. m., and silently wended its way 
in the darkness. All went well until midnight, 
when the force was passing through a narrow rocky 
defile near their objective. Huge boulders here sud- 
denly crashed down the hillside among the infantry. 

The order for absolute silence on the march was 
obeyed, however; the column halted, and the com- 
mand to lie down was passed in whispers along the 
line. The halt deceived the Boer outposts on the 
cliffs above, and mounting their horses they rode 
recklessly down the steep hillside, blundering right 
into the ammunition mules. With shouts of terror 
they spurred their way through and disappeared in 
the night ere a shot could be fired, but startled by 
the sudden disturbance two mules reared and broke 
loose from their native drivers. Most of these usu- 
ally plucky Cape boys dropped their reins and 
bolted, and in the indescribable fear that sometimes 
dominates the animal breast, battery and ammunition 
mules burst away in a sudden wild stampede, carry- 
ing the guns, shells, and rifle ammunition with them. 

The officers, after quieting their men, admitted the 
advisability of retiring; but since this would have 
left White's left unprotected, hazarding the success of 
his attack, they finally decided to go on and do what 

131 



In South Africa with Buller 

they could. The force without guns or reserve am- 
munition moved over toward Nicholson's Nek, and 
seized a flat-topped hill and ridge, which they 
rudely strengthened with rough breastworks before 
daybreak. 

Two hours before dawn, the main columns left 
Ladysmith, the 7th Brigade, General Hamilton, com- 
prising the 1st Devons, 1st Manchesters, 2d Gor- 
dons, and the newly arrived 2d Rifle Brigade, which 
detrained from Maritzburg and marched straight to 
battle, moved against Pepworth Hill with three field 
batteries and the Light Horse. The right column. 
Colonel Grimwood, comprising 1st Leicesters, 1st 
Rifles, 2d Dublin Fusiliers, and 1st Liverpools with 
three field batteries, and the Natal volunteer battery, 
moved toward Farquhar's Farm. The cavalry bri- 
gade. General French, and the mounted infantry- 
operated on the extreme right flank. 

The Boer " Long Tom " opened the fight by drop- 
ping a shell in the main column, on the Newcastle 
road. The heavy Creusot 40-pounder had been 
mounted on Pepworth Hill with stupendous diffi- 
culty. It was guarded only by a small commando 
under De Wet, and the Irish -American corps, com- 
manded by Colonel Blake, an erratic West Pointer, 
and composed mainly of the Rand riff-raff fighting 
under a green table-cloth bearing the imposing legend 
"Remember Michelstown. " With their corps was 
the fiery Major McBride, who ran for member of 

132 



Battle of Pepworth Hill 

Parliament in his borough while he was in Africa 
bearing arms against his own country. These three 
companies of adventurers provided Dr. Leyds with a 
cue for his assertion that three thousand Americans 
and "thousands" of Irishmen were fighting to up- 
hold the Transvaal flag. 

Their impetuous invitation to battle nearly cost 
them dearly. The picket that had blundered on 
Carleton's column had reported an immense force of 
British toward Nicholson's Nek, which caused a gen- 
eral diversion of the Boers from Pepworth. But for 
the arrival of Meyer's force on the right, depleted 
by their defeat at Talana and subsequent desertions, 
but burning to retrieve their lost prestige, the 7th 
Brigade would have ousted the Boer-Irish force from 
the heights and captured the most famous gun of the 
republic. 

The artillery came into action and raked the crest, 
driving the gunners from their piece, and wounding 
Blake, while the infantry drove the Boers gradually 
back against the base of the hill. Several times 
" Long Tom " reopened only to be silenced by the 
puny field-guns below, and his hours seemed num- 
bered as the infantry closed in. Heavy firing at 
Nicholson's Nek showed that Carleton was covering 
the left, as arranged, and De Wet's burghers and the 
alien corps looked with dismay at the troops advanc- 
ing against them, and their main force engaged 
elsewhere. 

133 



In South Africa with Buller 

The British right had found the enemy at Far- 
quhar's farm, when Meyer's column augmented by 
an eight-gun battery of the Staats artillery arrived. 
The guns rapidly came into action; while, covered by 
successive kopjes, the Boer riflemen opened at deadly 
range on Grim wood's left flank. The Manchesters 
were at once detached from the centre to reinforce 
the right, but at this juncture other commandoes 
moved from the direction of Lombard's Kop against 
Grimwood's right, and he was almost enveloped. 

French's cavalry brigade was operating far on the 
right, and dismounting his troopers he edged in, meet- 
ing this advance with carbine fire ; but the squadrons 
were almost cut off from their horses, and Hamilton, 
leaving only one battery to shell Pep worth, was 
obliged to move his force over from the centre to 
avert disaster. 

By accidental strategy, of which their leaders had 
promptly taken advantage, the Boers had been en- 
abled to deliver effective counter attacks ; their rapid 
change of front and the timely arrival of reinforce- 
ments negatived the entire British plan. Other 
commandoes now closed in with Maxims and an 
automatic quick-firer, and Grimwood's brigade, 
greatly outnumbered, was forced to retire across the 
open, the batteries and Hamilton's brigade covering 
the movement. 

Another practical lesson of the overwhelming num- 
ber of the invading Boers was furnished at this 

134 




^ "e 



Battle of Pepworth Hill 

juncture, when a despatch was delivered to White 
announcing that a force of the enemy with artillery 
was menacing Ladysmith from the north. The com- 
mandoes that had been led toward Bell's Sjjruit, by 
the exaggerated reports of Carleton's column, had 
assisted in overwhelming this small and handicapped 
command, and under cover of the main action had 
advanced against the Ladysmith outposts. Reluc- 
tantly White gave the order for a general retreat, 
the enemy pressing close the moment the infantry 
fell back. 

The artillery pluckily held their ground under 
a terrific fire from rifles and machine and field 
guns, while the advance battalions retired doggedly 
through the intervals between the batteries. But 
circling round the kopjes surrounding the valley, 
the mobile riflemen pressed forward on the British 
flanks, delivering a heavy enfilade fire. It was first 
fight for most of them, and with impetuosity stirred 
by the British retirement, and beautifully covered by 
their guns on the surrounding hills, they ran the 
tired regiments hard. 

Colonel Coxhead then saved the day with the 
guns. The 13th and 53d batteries galloped for- 
ward through a shower of projectiles, and faced anni- 
hilation to cover the retreat. It was not for nothing 
that the 13th had been called the model battery at 
the Okehampton contest. First under Flint, then 
under Lambard, it had been licked into shape by two 

135 



In South Africa with Buller 

of the best gunners in the army. I have frequently- 
heard Lambard say that his detachments and drivers 
were "fit to go anywhere and fit to do anything." 
He was denied the satisfaction of seeing the extreme 
test of his training, but under Dawkins the battery 
has well sustained its reputation, the 53d running 
it a dead heat for bravery. 

Steadily, as on parade, the gunners hammered the 
Boer pursuit until the burghers were checked. The 
vicious Vickers-Maxim, however, was turned against 
the gunners' flank and sent a rapid stream of one- 
pound shells among the guns until it was fought and 
temporarily silenced by a subdivision of the 53d. 

At this juncture Joubert's entire army had closed in 
to harass the British retirement, and the two light 
field batteries faced them and checked them until 
the column was safe, and then retired alternately, 
one unlimbering and opening fire while the other fell 
back to a position behind it. As the guns of the 
53rd started in turn to retire, the phut-phut gun for 
a minute gained steady range on subdivision 6, 
killing five horses out of the gun team. The 
other gunners galloped on, looking on the gun as 
lost, Boers, swarming over the broken ground on all 
sides, rapidly spurred in, firing heavily from the 
saddle ; but when capture seemed imminent, the two 
limber gunners who had escaped stood by the trail- 
eye, and unlimbering from the wreck, hooked the 
gun to a wagon limber and team brought back by 

136 



White Retires to Ladysmith 

Bombardier Saunders, and the piece was safely 
extricated. 

Another gun was overturned in a ditch, the team 
being piled up indescribably. Lieutenant Higgins 
and the surviving gunners extricated the drivers, 
unhitched and untangled the team, and righted the 
gun, bringing it up safely at a gallop amid the cheers 
of their comrades. The enemy, covered by a hedge, 
crawled in close, and delivered a severe fire during 
the operation. 

The nature of the ground enabled the Boers to fol- 
low the retiring columns at easy rifle range without 
becoming endangered by the fire of their own artil- 
lery.. But news of the defeat had already reached 
Ladysmith, where the naval contingent from H. M. 
S. " Terrible " had just detrained from Durban with 
two naval quick firers which had been placed on field 
mountings, hurriedly but effectively constructed by 
Captain Scott, R. N. Lieutenant Egerton, unable 
to obtain transportation for the guns, rigged drag- 
ropes, and his men hauled the heavy pieces to meet 
the force and cover their retirement. 

As the column wound over the rising ground lead- 
ing into Ladysmith, the heavy Boer guns again 
opened accurately, the first shot blowing an am- 
bulance and its occupants to pieces. But to the 
surprise of the Boers, religiously supplied with in- 
formation respecting the army by disloyal Natal 
Dutch, successive shells from guns that ranged their 

137 



In South Africa with Buller 

own, rapidly silenced "Long Tom," and drove the 
Staats gunners from their Krupps, scoring at least 
one success in the day of failure. 

Not until nightfall did Ladysmith learn of the fate 
of the devoted regiments which had faced certain 
disaster rather than jeopardize the success of the 
planned attack. After an anxious night, daybreak 
had revealed an overwhelming force of the enemy 
closing in on them. Unfortunately the position on 
the nek that Carleton had seized in the darkness, 
was commanded by neighboring hills, and a dropping 
fire soon raged around the Gloucesters and Irish from 
an unseen foe lurking among the rocks above and 
beyond them. For a time the fire was returned, but 
ammunition was soon exhausted. The little force 
then was entirely surrounded, and though the rap- 
idly thinning ranks waited with fixed bayonets, ex- 
pecting relief from the centre, the location of the 
firing soon apprised them of White's retirement. 
Dead and wounded were piled up inside the ineffec- 
tual shelters, but the men grimly held their ground, 
and the old Boer subterfuge of sounding "Retire! " 
to lure them into the open, failed to draw. 

Then word was passed along the line that the 
white flag was raised and the force was to surren- 
der; and Boers rapidly rode toward the position, sig- 
nalling the men to lay down their rifles. There was 
a yell of defiance from the soldiers. The Glouces- 
ters and Fusiliers fought together at Waterloo; the 

138 



Surrender at Nicholson's Nek 

latter were the celebrated " Faugh a ballaghs " who 
had " cleared the way " in many combats, and officers 
and men shouted that they would not surrender. 
But the leading burghers pointed to a low spur in 
the centre, jutting from the nek ; the white flag was 
certainly waving, — by order, the officers supposed, — 
and it was their duty to order their men to lay 
down their arms. 

But for once their orders were not obeyed, and 
even the unarmed gunners of the stampeded battery 
seized rifles from dead men and prepared to help re- 
sist with the bayonet. But the subalterns entreated 
their companions not to violate the flag, but to obey 
orders. Some officers snatched guns from their men 
and threw them to the ground, and finally reason 
prevailed. Several officers broke their swords, and 
as the Boers closed in, the men flung themselves 
on the ground, cursing and weeping. They were 
made prisoners by Commandant Steenekamp, their 
wounded being treated with every consideration. 
Sleiman escorted the captured men to Pretoria. 

It subsequently transpired that the flag had been 
raised by a wounded sergeant of the Gloucesters, 
who with ten men had survived a party holding an 
outlying and exposed position. Unable to move, 
and believing from the cessation of the firing above 
them that they were abandoned, they tied a handker- 
chief to a rifle which was stuck upright by the 
bayonet in the ground before their breastwork; and 

139 



In South Africa with Buller 

greatly surprised were they to hear the shouts of 
their comrades above them when the Boer volleys 
stopped. 

Further resistance, however, would have entailed 
useless slaughter, but officers and men stoutly claim, 
"We did not surrender, we were surrendered," and 
there is no discredit to those concerned. I do not 
know, however, why a force was sent to operate in a 
difficult and dangerous country without some system 
of communication with the centre or base. Lack of 
cavalry cannot be the excuse. 

Despite the signal victories of Dundee, Elands- 
laagte, and the success at Rietfontein, White now 
found the enemy closing in on all sides in a strength 
that the colonial authorities had little dreamed of. 
The awakening of Pepworth Hill had cost heavily in 
killed, wounded, and missing, and but for the urgent 
representations of the Colonial Government to hold 
Ladysmith at all costs. White would have fallen back 
across the Tugela to await reinforcements. 

During the siege of Badajoz, Lieutenant, after- 
wards Sir, Harry Smith saved the honor of a beauti- 
ful young Spanish countess. The age of chivalry 
was not then dead, and the sequel to the romance is 
that the young officer became one of the few success- 
ful administrators in South Africa, and Lady Smith, 
who followed her husband through his adventurous 
career, shared his popularity. Hence, Harrismith in 
the Free State and Ladysmith in Natal. The latter 

140 



Isolation of Ladysmith 

settlement, -which has since grown into an important 
town, was built on the flat ground sloping down to 
the Klip River. Enclosed and commanded on three 
sides by a horse-shoe of hills, it proved an ideal place 
for Boer investment. But the hero of Childulktean 
and Charasiah immediately prepared for defence, 
sending out most of his women and children to 
Maritzburg, expecting at least to be able to sustain 
communications along the railroad to Durban, how- 
ever, though some stores were hurried to the front. 
Train after train of wounded and refugees were sent 
down country to escape the perils of bombardment, 
but absolute siege was not expected. 

On November 2d, French with cavalry and artil- 
lery made a sortie toward B esters, shelling the Boers 
out of a laager. Much more of this sort of work 
might have been done by surprising isolated com- 
mandoes and night attacks, but after Nicholson's 
Nek, White was naturally cautious. The troops also 
were engaged on heavy fatigue and garrison duty, 
being chiefly occupied in building defences for the 
town. Had the natives been hired or even impressed, 
as a military necessity, with good pay, black labor 
might have accomplished much of this work. Indi- 
gent natives afterwards had to be fed, and no great 
difficulty stood in the way of their employment, as in 
Kimberley and Mafeking, leaving the troops free 
for military purposes. But close investment was 
not expected until farmers from the South flocked 

141 



In South Africa with Buller 

into Ladysmith with stories of wanton outrage and 
plunder, and it dawned on the little garrison that 
they were being hemmed in. The cordon grew 
tighter, and on the 4th, the enemy was seen hov- 
ering in the vicinity of Colenso, where the line 
crosses the Tugela. General French left on the 
armored train for Durban that morning to arrange 
for reinforcements, and the cars were shelled ineffec- 
tually. Later in the day the small garrison holding 
Colenso was attacked and driven south, the rails 
were torn up, hills in the vicinity closely occupied, 
and despite two desperate and successful sorties, the 
isolation of Ladysmith, with its garrison of ten thou- 
sand men, was completed on the following day. 



142 



CHAPTER VI 

Cape Town : Political and Military. — Landing of 
THE Army. — Buller's Force, — Disposition of the 
Columns. 

Adamastoe rose in his wrath, and in the garb of 
politics swept down the Caudine forks of Afrikan- 
derism, upsetting the habitual calm that Cape Town 
derives from its guardian giant Table Mountain. 

By an accident of transportation I was outside the 
Boer lines ; but there was a moment of doubt — could 
this be a British colony? The Union Jack was 
waving and the " gentleman in khaki " was on the 
street — it was Cape Town, not Pretoria. Yet Boer 
successes all along the line, Ladysmith, Kimberley, 
and Mafeking invested ! Whence, then, these smiling 
faces, the guttural congratulations, the portentous 
air, asinus portat mysteria ? 

"We cannot help rejoicing at the victory of our 
brothers over British oppression," said my acquaint- 
ance, an hahitue of Camp Street. 

" Oppression ? " 

" Well, yes. ' Africa for Afrikanders,' you know, 
like your favorite theme, ' Cuba for the Cubans.' " 

143 



In South Africa with Buller 

Cuba ! Soutli Africa ! My mind reverted to the 
far Antilles, — the starving women and children, 
perishing conscripts, the shambles of la Cabana, the 
deportados^ — scenes of war, murder, starvation, and 
sudden death ; of a land dripping with blood under 
Weyler's iron hand. I looked around me : the young 
Afrikanders were parading on the strength of the 
" good news ; " there was a general and open jubila- 
tion over imperial reverse. 0ns Land, a newspaper 
that surpassed Pretorian sheets in virulence and 
rabid invective, and other notorious pro-Boer 
organs were on the street. But where was British 
oppression ? 

My friend could not specify grievances. True, 
the Colony made its own laws, determined its own 
revenue, boasted its own parliament. Stranger yet, 
the Dutch, I mean the Afrikander party, these victims 
of oppression, were in absolute power. They had 
elected their own Cabinet, held their debates in 
Dutch, and by the freest of representative franchise, 
ran the colony — a British colony — as they listed. 
But all this is not enough for your retrogressive 
Cape-Boer. He had one and only one fault to find 
with the liberal constitution of this Crown colony: 
it guarantees equal rights to all ; and an Englishman 
or American has the same privileges as he has, and 
the black also if he has the educational qualifications 
of a voter. In short, here is a country every bit as 
free and universal as the United States, with the 

144 



Traitors in Cape Town 

protection of England's vast resources, for which 
the colonists are not taxed one penny. No wonder 
the intelligent foreigner, after suffering under the ad- 
ministrators of the Transvaal, welcomes the prospect 
of the extension of such a constitution north of the 
Vaal, since his efforts to gain a true republic, under 
which all could become citizens of the land of their 
adoption, had proved abortive and hopeless. 

Of course ere long I located the loyal sections, and 
though quieter they are in majority. And in the 
gatherings that pray for British victory and work for 
the soldiers of their empire, the visitor, even if he 
thinks he knows his Cape Town well in peace, will be 
surprised to find so large a proportion Dutch. The 
war has wrought many changes, dividing the sheep, 
the goats, and the wolves in sheep's clothing ; but the 
progressive element of the Dutch, the very best of 
that I'aaZ-speaking race, has come out strongly for 
country and Queen. Like their historical relatives 
in North America, they have quietly accepted the 
rule under which their destiny is cast, and by reason 
of their ties to the country they are the best people 
South Africa could have. For nearly a century they 
have lived under British rule ; they believe in its 
benefits, since the people's is the hand that guides it. 
These Dutch loyalists are the salt of the earth, and 
every year their number grows in combination for 
the common good. 

And note these well, gentle Americans of Dutch 
10 145 



In South Africa with Buller 

descent! Your sympatliies have been enlisted for 
the Boer republics because you feel that they are 
peopled by those of your own blood. Granted 
the sturdy development of Boer character, the cor- 
ruption and oppression of the countries cannot be 
gainsaid. Ere you throw your sympathy with the 
misguided, look well into the race, for the ties of 
blood and language are more fancied than real. His- 
tory will show you that the voortrekkers were not the 
purest or the most enlightened Dutch. If you are 
guided by race do not overlook the pure Dutch mer- 
chants, traders, and professional men who remained 
near Cape Town. Their language was the language 
of your progenitors — not Taal. To-day they speak 
the English language with you ; they are your true 
blood relatives and they share your truest ideals. 
They have spent nearly a century with Anglo Saxons, 
making a common cause and a common country. 

Granted that their first aim is loyalty to the Queen, 
but they are the true Knickerbockers of South Africa, 
and their second aim, " to bind together all nationali- 
ties, English, Dutch, French, and German, savors of 
the highest Americanism. With that object there is 
a guild to counteract the evil genii of the Bond. 
Enrolled therein, besides prominent people of British 
extraction (Irish included), are the descendants of 
the best Dutch, French, Huguenot, and German 
Lutheran families in the colony. With Sir Peter 
and Lady Faure, the Van der Byls, de Jonghs, Gries- 

146 



Boers or Dutch 

bachs, Silberbauers, Van Rynevelds, Smits, Van 
Bredas, Redelinghuis, and Zalms, and a host of others 
that would fill this chapter to mention, the British 
flag will be safe in South Africa, for they were born 
under it and appreciate the full measure of its liberty. 

If blood be thicker than water, it is with the Dutch 
loyalists that you should sympathize as your nearest 
kin. Do not forget the homes of these people 
on the borders, sacked because their conscience for- 
bade their accepting arms to fight against their Queen ; 
nor the homeless women whose husbands have been 
flung into Pretoria jail because, though Dutch, they 
refused the mandates of the republics. Their lot is 
every bit as hard as that of the lonely Boer women 
of the Transvaal or Free State. You have been led 
to believe that this struggle is Dutch versus English, 
and that the former, republican and colonial, are 
united in a common cause. Make no such mistake. 

The following figures are given as the strength 
of the races in South Africa : — 

British Butch 

Cape Colony ... . 146,224 228,627 

Natal ....... 51,000 10,000 

TraBsvaal 120,000 125,000 

Tree State 6,791 70,925 

In Cape Colony, among the British enumerated 
above, are several thousand young settlers who 
have no franchise, and the Dutch vote, almost to a 

147 



In South Africa with Buller 

man. Yet with this great Dutch preponderance, the 
Bond has returned minorities, and the majority, 
neither the Dutch nor the British, but the intelligent 
residents of South Africa irrespective of nationality, 
have legislated in direct opposition to the republics. 
The Transvaal has been especially bitter against the 
Cape Colonists, and has favored, not the Dutch, but 
the Bdndites only, who are disciples of Reitz and in 
some sympathy with Krugerism. To-day the Bond 
enjoys only a slight majority gained through the 
split in the Rhodes party. Do not forget the Dutch 
on the other side. Ask Dr. Lindley, once prominent 
with you, now major in Remington's corps. He 
knows. 

It was with the Bondites that I cast my lot for 
observation, and I was not supposed to learn these 
things. So great was the desire of my pro-Boer 
friends to imbue within me an appreciation of their 
cause when they learned that my pen might reach 
the press of the American people, from whom they 
expect so much, that they ignored veracity or con- 
sistent statement ; and much as there is to be said on 
their side, they are their own enemies and should be 
saved from prejudicing their own cause. My over- 
rated introduction to a certain Bond leader read: 
" The bearer by pen and sword fought for the inde- 
pendence of Cuba. He loves the liberty of all men, 
and represents some leading American papers. Give 
him all assistance in your power to learn the truth 

148 



The Africander 

of the deplorable state of South. Africa." I fear my 
conception of liberty differed from theirs, but it was 
not from want of presentation to their cause. 

" Africa for Afrikanders " the rallying cry of the 
Bond, would be correctly rendered " Africa for the 
ultra Cape Dutch." I had expected to find in its 
ranks at least the English Radicals of the colony, 
but I found none save the Hofmeyers, Sauers, and 
such. The British Africander, even of the third and 
fourth generation, has an inherent love of the country 
of his early progenitors. 0ns land to him is Eng- 
land. But note this, ultra loyalist and ultra Bondite ! 
Sustain your loyalty, the one to the mother coun- 
try, the other to tradition, but remember, " our land," 
ons land, Africa, should be your cry, that you may 
combine to rear up a great country and a united 
people. You, loyalist, must overcome some of your 
British prejudices ; and remember, Bondite, that 
history records no successful attempt of government 
moulded on your past ideals. Learn a lesson from 
the Dutch loyalist, whose motto is " Universal liberty 
for all South Africa." 

If the Bond has had a definite policy to achieve an 
independent Dutch South Africa, its members have 
shown neither foresight nor intelligence in its pursu- 
ance, and have developed no disposition themselves 
to strike the blow. These Bondites did not know 
their England well — they know it better to-day. 

149 



In South Africa with Buller 

Their founder, Mr. Reitz, jumped into the State- 
secretaryship of the Transvaal when gold promised 
a harvest for Afrikander ideals, and they inwardly 
hoped that by his infusion to Boer politics the fight- 
ing of Kruger and Steyn would extort a further 
exhibition of British magnanimity, mistaken as cow- 
ardice by Afrikanders, and accomplish the over- 
throw of Anglo Saxon dominance in South Africa. 

The Boer summary of British impotence men- 
tioned in a previous chapter had circulated freely 
throughout Afrikanderdom. It was borne out by 
successive reverses to the imperial arms. But jubi- 
lation was turned to fear when the more thoughtful 
element realized the possibility of Crown control 
swept away for the institution of Boer supremacy 
on Kruger lines. Scales dropped from the eyes of 
these Bondites; they perceived the Transvaal 
Charybdis looming on their political horizon to ob- 
scure the small Colonial Of&ce Scylla. Kruger was 
by no means the Washington for their independence, 
neither did they desire their destiny shaped by the 
more popular Steyn. Their racial sympathies had 
been with the republics as they stood, objects of 
British aggression. But when they disclosed arma- 
ments of which the Cape Dutch had never dreamed, 
and soon dreaded, the danger of Boer dominance 
caused representative colonials of all creeds to rally 
to the imperial cause. 

Thousands of ignorant border farmers, however, 
150 



Colonial Traitors 

prompted by the early action of the Bond, and misled 
by Kruger's bibliomancy, took up arms against the 
British. They aided the sacking of loyalists homes, 
and traitorously acted as spies on all occasions. 
They looted and bushwhacked with the Boers, count- 
ing on Bond influence and British magnanimity to 
escape the penalties of high treason if they had 
jumped on the losing side, with the certainty of 
a rich haul in the spoils if the republics were 
victorious. 

Kruger's threat that if these traitors were held 
responsible for their treachery he would inflict 
reprisal on British prisoners of war will gain him 
scant sympathy from the civilized world. The 
Government warned the colonial Dutch of the 
penalties of treason; those who replied by taking up 
arms against their country, wantonly destroying the 
homes of loyalists, many of their own tongue and 
blood, must abide by the result, 

I could fill a chapter with the sloth, deceit, and 
general shortcomings of the inland Dutch farmer, 
though, in deference to the many intelligent Dutch 
British subjects, a special term should distinguish 
this type of Afrikander. Olive Schreiner, who is 
prejudiced enough in their favor, says that the Taal 
" cannot express a subtle emotion or abstract concep- 
tion, or wide generalization." Their limitations and 
ignorance must be experienced to be appreciated. ' 

The absence of principle in the true Boer, colonial 
151 



In South Africa with Buller 

or republican, and his bigotry, is unparalleled by 
any other white race. There are many rebel farm- 
ers who looted their neighbors' stock, and to-day 
are coolly preparing a heavy bill for personal dam- 
ages, — fraudulent claims under the clauses of im- 
perial compensation. These men drove their own 
and neighbors' herds to the enemy, receiving com- 
mandeer notes from the Boer officials, to be redeemed 
" when the English were driven into the sea." They 
are now ready to present these notes to the British 
government on the plea that the supplies were for- 
cibly commandeered, and thus receive recompense, 
not only for their own goods, but for the stolen 
property of the loyalists. These latter have no 
papers to prove their losses, having been driven 
out in the night to seek a refuge in British lines 
by the fusillade of a gang of local traitors acting 
for the republics, but whom they were unable to 
recognize. 

At six Dutch farm-houses in succession I once 
strove to obtain aid for a wounded black ; all these 
gentry, typical of their kind, gave insults instead of 
mercy. The sturdy wife of a German settler proffered 
everything, including her bed, had we needed it. I 
have yet to meet the man of this very general type 
who can look one straight in the eye. The Trans- 
vaal Boer especially has that hangdog expression, 
the shifty eye, that is apt to evoke a perhaps unjust 
contempt. And it is because of their limitations, 

152 



Wisdom of Magnanimity 

their colossal ignorance, that it is foolish to overrate 
the rebellious instincts of the colonial Boers. 

Looters and swindlers should be treated as common 
criminals, not by court martial or by special tribunal 
so that the culprits pose as martyrs. Already the 
traitorous Bond organ 0ns Land, when referring to 
the summary trial of such, heads the article, " He is 
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
before her shearers is dumb," and so forth. The colo- 
nial officials who in violation of their oaths of office 
received the Boers with open arms deserve severe 
treatment. The ringleaders of the rebels should be 
sentenced to imprisonment for life, and released 
when the war is over. But the simple Afrikanders 
who took up arms when the Republicans hoisted the 
vierkleur in their district, and annexed it, deserve 
every consideration. The men who were taken re- 
sisting under arms merit what they are receiving — 
from six months to a year in prison; though they 
should be released if the war closes earlier. 

But those surrendering, and even those sneaking 
home hoping to escape detection, need no such pun- 
ishment. With Abderitan simplicity they imbibed 
the propagated lies of Boer leaders ; they saw British 
territory invaded with impunity, and believed Lady- 
smith taken. White killed, BuUer a prisoner, and 
the British army dispersed, even as their local papers 
told them. There is much excuse for these. Now 
that they find their leaders sur les j'oncs, the Boers 

153 



In South Africa with Buller 

retreating, and the rooineks in possession, they are 
very ready to resume the role of peace. Disen- 
franchisement will be a necessary measure for those 
men, until after the war. They do not deserve the 
power of vote, until they have grasped the propse- 
deutic lessons of their empire and its responsibilities. 
By this disenfranchisement, at least thirteen rabid 
Bond members of the Legislative Assembly will be 
unseated in the next election. This will crumble the 
narrow Bond majority and overthrow the present 
ministry. But it would be madness to enforce the 
severe penalties urged by many loyalists. 

The blundering of the Bond is in a measure 
responsible for these traitors. Bond members have 
welcomed the enemy to their homes and have ex- 
tended a willing hospitality to the leaders. Bond 
blunders in the past misled the Pretorian war party 
to rely on unanimous rising of the Cape Dutch when 
hostilities opened. But in the eleventh hour, when 
this caucus had taken fullest advantage of political 
liberty and found their selfish interests likely to 
suffer, they paraded their tardy loyalty, waved the 
Union Jack, and sang " God save the Queen," 

The Bond members meet in an old Dutch mansion 
in Cape Town, a salon presided over by a talented 
Dutch lady, the Madame de Stael of Afrikanderism. 
The average members of the Bond may be easily 
detected ; they are polished editions of the Boer, — 
ample-waisted, bewhiskered men in tall hats, frock 

154 



Overrating Cape Disloyalty 

coats, and the omnipresent rucked up trousers reach- 
ing to the top of elastic side-boots. At the last Cape 
general election, the numerical inequality of poll- 
ing districts returned an ultra-Dutch majority. The 
Bond was the inspiration of this Parliament — it was 
the power behind the ministry. The Bond decreed 
neutrality of the colony in a British war, and that 
neutrality was in part effected. In consequence, the 
Cape ministry stands charged with responsibility for 
the early success of the Boer invasion ; and the Prime 
Minister, Mr. Schreiner, has not escaped the brand of 
traitor, though history will show how little he deserved 
the opprobrious epithet. 

But Cape disloyalty has been talked of and magni- 
fied for political effect until every colonial of Dutch 
extraction in South Africa is looked upon as a traitor 
and all Bond members as active factors in the war. 
Bear in mind the blood relationship of the South 
African Dutch; British subject or Boer, he sprang 
from the same stock, though environment has greatly 
determined his characteristics. The active and passive 
sympathy for the republics among representative 
Afrikanders is chiefly racial. The intelligent Dutch 
colonial knows that he enjoys a government republi- 
can in all but name. His liberty also is guaranteed 
by his inclusion in the most powerful empire in the 
world. 

It is charged that the Bond has conspired, in no 
very intelligent fashion, with Germany. The Rhodes- 

155 



In South Africa with Buller 

ite party claims to have positive proof that a noted 
Bond leader received X2000 for electioneering pur- 
poses from the "Berliner Handelsgesellschaft," and 
other evidence of apparent German intrigue is not 
wanting. But Mr. Hofmeyr, the chairman, speaking 
for the Bond, was the first to resent the Emperor 
William's congratulatory cable, and in an open letter 
to the colony stated that the seizure of Damaraland 
would be the first act of the opposition of United 
South Africans to German aggression; and I know 
that he personally warned Kruger not to count upon 
Germany as a factor in the war with England. 

Even the ultra Bondites of Cape Colony have 
progressed far more during the past decade than 
have their brother Afrikanders in the republics, and 
the more enlightened members have sustained the 
Bond as a Dutch co-operative society, little influ- 
enced by its avowed ideals. Many of the most 
prominent men in present Bond circles have used the 
association only as a means to defeat the Rhodes 
party at all hazards — not to lessen imperial control. 
With them it is the old story of resort to every device 
for political capital, and invariably such devices are 
reactive. The future will show that these men, by 
dabbling with the anti-British party in colony and 
republics have played directly into the hands of their 
political opponents. 

Forgetting in their factional hatred that the Rhodes 
party, professedly at least, was the imperial party, 

156 



A Word to the Loyalist 

that by aiming so injudiciously at their opponents 
it has appeared that they were aiming at the Crown, 
these Afrikanders have thrown reckless political 
boomerangs that are reverting to their own heads. 

With the preponderance of home opinion behind 
them, the imperialist party are not only urging 
extreme measures against the republics, but they 
will attempt a general political humiliation of the 
Bondites. 

The loyalist has learned many things by bitter 
experience. In part, his ancestors have lived in South 
Africa as long as the Bondites. Those of British 
extraction are there to stay, and many can go back 
to colonial great-grandfathers. They have been forced 
to remain quietly under what they term a "traitorous 
alien administration of a Crown colony." They 
have suffered severely in places by what they feel to 
be the wilful neglect of the present party, and they 
resent continuance of the Afrikander ministry. And 
these intelligent Dutch and the British South Afri- 
cans desire to forever end the dominance of the 
Bond. 

Unfortunately the endogamy of the British and 
Dutch has been sustained too strongly for a large 
common stock to arise as true Afrikanders. In the 
fusion of the races lies the only hope for future South 
Africa. In glancing over a recent marriage register, 
I was gratified to notice the greatly increasing num- 
ber of unions of Dutch and British names. While 

157 



In South Africa with Buller 

pessimists despair, here is the rising star of South 
African hope. And Dutch men of all classes and 
creeds, and many a faltering Britisher as well, have 
learned new lessons of the empire of which they are 
an integral part. They have seen French and Eng- 
lish Canadians shouldering their rifles with colon- 
ials of all climes for a common cause; they have 
realized now the fallacy of those who had so clearly 
outlined the rottenness of the solid fabric of the 
British empire. And the ignorant border-farmer, 
whose vote makes him an element of danger, has 
learned his lesson from the thousands of troops " that 
have swarmed up from the sea." Already I have 
noted a change in his tone, — he is prouder now of 
being a British subject, and has learned an infinite 
respect for those little pieces of paper with " V. R." 
and a crown as a heading, and " God save the Queen " 
on the last line. 

Note this change, loyalist! As you stand in the 
ruins of your homestead, your furniture smashed to 
atoms, your bedroom turned into a dung heap ; as you 
see your wife's tears for the ruthless destruction of 
relics of bygone days, for her home, once the pride 
and joy of her woman's heart, now a hopeless wreck; 
as you hear the childish sobs over the pets stolen by 
this rebel enemy, and rage and despair gnaw at your 
heart, — note this change ! Revenge for these bitter 
wrongs would be sweet, but magnanimity can work 
the greater good. Magnanimity cannot now be mis- 

158 



A Word to the Loyalist 

taken for fear, and it will be the only salve for future 
peace in South Africa. 

When equality for all men has been firmly estab- 
lished from the Cape to the Zambesi, and all South 
Africa has come under one flag, do not engender 
racial issues. Remember that any attempt to hu- 
miliate your Dutch neighbors politically for the acts 
of the more ignorant of their brethren must divide 
the colonies into hostile camps, British and Afrikan- 
der. Furthermore, it will consolidate the Dutch 
parties, now split into imperialists, anti-republicans, 
progressives, and Bondites, against you. The breach 
is wide now, but the Afrikander has learnt his les- 
son, and it rests greatly with you, British loyalist, to 
re-establish cordial relations for the sake of future 
peace and prosperity. 

Remember in your bitterness that some high in 
authority (though, under less tolerant rulers than 
England, many would have been imprisoned or shot 
for high treason) did at the eleventh hour stand for 
Queen and country, and secured the loyalty of thou- 
sands of the Dutch, from East London to De Aar, 
who stood wavering under the subtle promises of the 
Presidents, and who in rebellion might have cost 
the colony dearly. Remember also the thousands 
of loyal Dutchmen, the " Progressive Afrikanders " 
in the colonial forces, who, true to the flag, went 
forth with you to fight the invader, and the thou- 
sands who deplored the war, disagreed with you 

159 



In South Africa with Buller 

about it, but remained loyal — country, right or 
wrong — my country. Bis vincit qui se vincit in 
victoria. 

To turn from the base political to the base military. 
Cape Town now is practically the headquarters of the 
largest army ever sent across the sea, save Weyler's 
horde so successfully outwitted by the Cuban " hand- 
ful." After the Tampa fiasco, I was anxious to see 
the disembarkation of an army without a Shafter. 
Daring November and December, England, awakened 
to the peril of her supremacy in South Africa at the 
hands of an army of herders, poured her soldiers into 
the colony in thousands. But transportation in the 
British army — or I should say navy, since the control 
of the transports is vested in the Admiralty — has 
been reduced to a perfect system by lessons of long 
experience. Entire divisions were moved six and 
seven thousand miles without a hitch; the system 
proved capable of efficacious extension from the 
Indian drafts to an army corps. 

In rapid succession great transports swung along- 
side the massive South Arm, the organization of the 
Army Service Corps was called into play, and as the 
living freight marched down the pier and entrained to 
the front, tons of stores were hoisted from the holds, 
every box of supplies, case of equipment, or bale of 
forage designated and apportioned. No confusion 
and no shortage ; the great base, divided into depart- 

160 



The First Army Corps 

ments for every military detail, filled the requisitions 
for the advanced bases, where supply columns were 
replenished, returns were sorted and checked with 
the dockets, by which every pound of food for horse 
or man, or stores from a traction engine to a head 
rope could be accounted for. 

The first army corps, under General Buller, which 
left England as Dundee and Elandslaagte were being 
fought, comprised, — 

First Division. 
Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen. 
First Brigade (Guards), Major-General Sir Henry 
Colvile, K. C. M. G. : 3d Grenadier Guards; 1st Cold- 
stream Guards ; 2d Coldstream Guards ; 1st Scots 
Guards. 

Second Brigade (English), Major- General Hildyard: 
2d West Surrey: 2d Devonshire; 2d West Yorkshire; 
2d East Surrey Regiment. 

DIVISIONAL TROOPS. 

One squadron 14th Hussars; 7th, 14th, and 66th Bat- 
teries R. F. A. ; ammunition column ; 17th Field Com- 
pany Eoyal Engineers; 20th Company Army Service 
Corps; 19th Field Hospital. 

Second Division. 
Lieutenant-General Sir C. F. Clery, K. C. B. 
Third Brigade (Scotch), Major-General Andrew Wau- 
chope : 2d Royal Highlanders ; 1st Highland Light In- 
11 161 



In South Africa with Buller 

fantry; 2d Seaforth Highlanders; 1st Argyll and 
Sutherland Highlanders. 

Fourth Brigade {Light Infantry)^ Major-General Lyt- 
telton: 2d Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) ; 3d King's 
Royal Rifles; 1st Durham Light Infantry; 1st Rifle 
Brigade. 

DIVISIONAL TROOPS. 

One squadron 14th Hussars; 63rd, 64th, and 73d Bat- 
teries R. F. A. ; ammunition column ; 17th Field Com- 
pany R. E. ; 20th Company A. S. C. ; 3d Field Hospital. 

Third Division. 
Lieutenant-General Sir W. Gatacre, K. C. B. 

Fifth Brigade (Irish), Major-G«neral Fitzroy Hart: 
1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; 2d Royal Irish 
Rifles; 1st Connaught Rangers; 1st Royal Duhlin 
Fusiliers. 

Sixth Brigade {Union), Major-General G. Barton: 
2d Royal Fusiliers ; 2d Royal Scots Fusiliers ; 1st Royal 
Welsh Fusiliers ; 2d Royal Irish Fusiliers. 

divisional troops. 

Squadron 14th Hussars ; 74th, 77th, and 79th Batteries 
R. F. A. ; ammunition column; 12th Field Company R. E.; 
29th Company A. S. C. ; 7th Field Hospital. 

CORPS troops. 

13th Hussars; P and G Batteries Royal Horse Artil- 
lery; 4th, 38th, and 78th Field, and 37th, 61st, and 65th 
Howitzer Batteries R. A. ; ammunition column ; Pontoon 
troop R. E.; Telegraph division R. E.; 26th Field Com- 

162 



The First Army Corps 

pany R. E. ; 1st Field Park R. E. ; two balloon sections 
R. E. ; lOth. Railway Company R, E. ; 1st Royal Scots ; 
21st Company A. S. C. ; Eield Bakery A. S. C; 5tli Field 
Hospital; ammunition and supply reserves, each organ- 
ized in three sections. 

Cavalry Division. 
Lieutenant-General French. 

First Brigade, Major-General Babington : 6th Dragoon 
Guards; 12th Lancers ; 10th Hussars; R Battery R. H. A. ; 
Lieutenant-Colonel Alderson's Mounted Infantry ; am- 
munition column; Field Troop R. E.; Company A. S. C. 

Second brigade, Major-General Brabazon : 1st Royal 
Dragoons ; 2d Dragoons (Scots Greys) ; 6th Dragoons 
(Inniskillings) ; D Battery R. H. A.; Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Tudway's Mounted Infantry; ammunition column; 
Field Troop R. E. ; Company A. S. C. 

A bearer company Field Hospital and Army Ser- 
vice supply column were attached to each brigade 
in the army corps. Besides the regular forces, the 
local colonial corps were mobilized for patrolling, 
scouting, and guarding the lines of communication. 

In Germany and Russia one district furnishes an 
army corps complete in all its details, but under the 
scattered military conditions of Greater Britain the 
mobilization of such a force necessitated the gather- 
ing of its component parts from the four winds of 
the heavens. The expeditious scheduling of widely 
scattered units, at the distant point of mobilization, 

163 



In South Africa with Buller 

should silence the would-be critics of the British 
military system. 

A complete army corps consists of tliree full in- 
fantry divisions. A division contains two infantry 
brigades, each of four complete battalions ; a brigade 
division (tliree batteries) of field artillery ; a squad- 
ron of ^cavalry ; and attached units, Engineers, Army 
Service, and Medical Staff corps and ammunition 
column. The corps troops comprise two horse and 
six field batteries, the balloon and telegraph sections, 
railroad company, pontoon troop, field park, and other 
units. Royal Engineers, one battalion of infantry, 
with Army Service corps, field hospital, ammunition 
and supply reserves. The cavalry division attached, 
now consists of two cavalry brigades (three regi- 
ments and one horse battery in each), a battalion of 
mounted infantry, mounted troop Roj^al Engineers, 
with Army Service, Medical Staff corps, and ammu- 
nition columns. 

The mobilization comprises about 42,000 officers 
and men, 96 guns, 17,000 animals and 2,150 vehicles, 
in the fighting force alone. Add to these the men 
of the various departmental corps, the battalions 
necessary for sustaining and guarding the lines of 
communication, and the total runs toward 70,000 
men. With the thousands of horses and vehicles 
required for the Army Service, supply and ammuni- 
tion columns, hospital and cavalry remount service, 
and the bullocks and mules for the convoys neces- 

164 



Arrival at Cape Town 

sary to feed this mighty host, you will see that it was 
no mean feat to gather this body of men, animals, and 
material, six thousand miles from home, little more 
than five weeks after war was declared. Kemember 
the difficulties faced at Tampa in sending Shafter's 
small army to a neighboring island; and since the 
British authorities have now triplicated this original 
force, you can obtain some idea of the stupendous 
task that has been so successfully accomplished dur- 
ing the past few months. 

The army corps reached Cape Town in the mid- 
dle of November. The plan of campaign had been 
conceived at the War Office and elaborated on the 
voyage by General BuUer and his staff; but great 
things had transpired in the meantime, and he landed 
in Cape Town to find an entirely different and far 
more difficult problem to solve. When he left Eng- 
land, White's force was adjudged ample to keep 
Joubert occupied in Natal ; the early British victories 
justified the belief. The army corps, mobilized on 
the Free State frontier, was to sweep upward tlirough 
Bloemfontein to Pretoria. The rodomontade of 
the Boers had evoked contemptuous roars from the 
self-satisfied British public. The cry " To Preto- 
ria ! " was uttered as freely in London, as " A Ber- 
lin ! " had been in Paris in '70 ; the awakening, if 
not so serious, was hardly less bitter. The army had 
been equally sanguine. 

General BuUer landed to find Ladysmith invested, 
165 



In South Africa with Buller 

Natal practically at the mercy of the enemy, Kim- 
herley isolated, Mafeking besieged, and strategical 
points of Cape Colony occupied. Miles of railroad 
were in the hands of the enemy, thousands of civil- 
ians were driven from their homes, their cattle lifted, 
their stores looted and destroyed. The revenues of 
the colonies were rapidly declining, and the serious 
aspect of affairs, especially in Natal, necessitated an 
entire and rapid change of campaign. 

The dominating British idea is to get at the enemy 
by the shortest route and smash him. But if the foe 
has great recuperative powers and is not easily get- 
at-able, it is better to employ strategy that will enable 
you to draw him from the ground of his own choos- 
ing and inflict a blow that will be decisive. In the 
light of present knowledge the wisdom of the 
abandoned plan of campaign is evident. An inva- 
sion of the republics would have inflicted war on the 
homeopathic principle Similia similibus curantur. 

The invasion of the Free State would have relieved 
Kimberley and lessened the pressure at Ladysmith 
by the rapid withdrawal of the Free Staters. The 
Transvaalers could not then have remained long in 
Natal, but would have moved northward to prepare 
the defence of their own country. "With Buller at 
Bloemfontein, White would have been released in 
natural sequence, and the energy expended in futile 
attempts to relieve Ladysmith would have been 
reserved for decisive campaigns north of the Zand. 

166 



Disposition of Troops 

But the speedy relief of the beleaguered cities was 
decided upon for political reasons, — the effect on 
the Cape Dutch overruling military plans. Methuen 
took part of his division to De Aar to prepare for 
the relief of Kimberley, but Hildyard was detached 
with his brigade from this division and sent to 
Durban; Barton's brigade followed. French was 
despatched to Naaupoort to hold the important rail- 
way junction. Gatacre disembarked at East London 
to check disaffection in the Stormberg district, but 
Natal became the chief theatre of war. The stream 
of reinforcements was diverted to the Garden Colony, 
and Clery was appointed in supreme command south 
of the Tugela. 

Transports came and went, troops were landed and 
sent to the front or were ordered on to East London 
and Durban, but Cape Town, the quaint, went on 
its way, apparently not greatly disturbed by the 
presence of 60,000 refugees from the republics and 
border towns, and the stream of arms passing by 
sea and land, with the reflux of the early wounded 
of the war. The batches of Boer prisoners attracted 
sympathy and attention from their local friends, and, 
from what I could judge, the soiled, repulsive-look- 
ing burghers found their prison quarters and prison 
rations anything but disagreeable. But there were 
others, too, survivors of the educated Johannesburg 
commando, interesting, intelligent men, many of 
Holland or colonial birth or educated Boers, who 

167 



In South Africa with Buller 

liked neitlier the companionship of their wretched 
compatriots nor the inaction, though these were loud 
in praise of their treatment, their gratitude being 
voiced aptly by Colonel Schiel, " First these British 
tried to kill us by bullets, and now by kindness." 

But later instalments had none of this refining 
leaven ; typical Transvaalers, they were a sorry 
crew, — pitiful exhibitions of what men of fine races 
can sink to when removed from civilization, with 
an environment that negatives education or progress. 
Yet the Boer has had the same chances as the sturdy 
pioneers of the "Western hemisphere. But while 
those whom fortune directly favored in the gold glut 
gave their sons education, of themselves the Boers 
do not beget Garfields nor the early traits of the 
many-sided Franklin. 

The soldiers halted in or near the capital, whether 
volunteers from Fort Wynyard or the passing regu- 
lars detached, had a royal time. The best in the 
place was theirs ; and wise indeed were the authori- 
ties to hold only necessary files at the base, rushing 
regiments right through, for the restraints of disci- 
pline were hardly proof against the excessive and 
often mistaken kindness of those who wished to show 
appreciation of the soldiers of their empire. 

More practical than these donors of strong drink, 
the black citizens formed a patriotic league to supply 
aR the strawberries and other fruit that could be 
used in the base-hospitals during the war ; and as 

168 



Loyalty of the People 

their color forbade their fighting for their Queen, 
they volunteered to take the place of railway patrols, 
without pay, so that the white guards could go 
forth to fight. 

And loyal Doctor Versfeld, to the horror of the 
Bond, called together the Dutch loyalists at Stellen- 
bosch, and equipped a hospital with beds, doctors, 
and nurses for the wounded ; and the moderator of 
the Synod called on the ministers to preach against 
the sin of disloyalty. Further yet, the Irish of Cape 
Town and environs held a mass meeting in their 
hundreds, and pledged their loyalty to the empire, 
adding that if British rule in the past had been 
hard for Ireland, there was the greater need for the 
Irish to-day to denounce like oppression in the 
Transvaal and further its suppression. An Irish 
Jenny Geddes hurled a rolling pin at " His river- 
ence," who in her own house told her to pray for 
the Boers. 

Politics figure somewhat in British religious life. 
The nonconformists are usually Liberals or Radicals, 
and those bitterly opposed to the war in England 
may generally be found in the ranks of the Dissen- 
ters. Hence the attitude of the religious bodies in 
South Africa are of moment. The Episcopalians, 
being of the Church of England, naturally are warm 
supporters of the Crown. The Presbyterians, who 
are less influenced by the power of Church and State, 
have also come out in full expression of imperial 

169 



In South Africa with Buller 

support. The Methodists maintain that liberty and 
justice for black and white can only be maintained 
by the extinction of the Transvaal Republic. The 
Congregationalists and Baptists are of like opinion; 
and for once religious opinions of all denominations 
are agreed. The Catholics and Jews, save three 
rabid Irish priests of the former, have also taken 
the same ground. These people are on the spot, and 
are not all influenced by Rhodes and capital. Then 
the Americans in South Africa gathered at Cape 
Town and passed an almost unanimous resolution sup- 
porting the British policy, and a unanimous amend- 
ment advising the citizens of the United States to 
maintain individual neutrality in word and deed. 

There was a touch of pathos when the local 
Mohammedans, the descendants of the East Indians 
shipped as slaves by the Dutch Company, had their 
meeting, and the patriarchs told the story of the 
horrors of the early days. They passed resolutions 
of gratitude to England for rescuing their fathers 
from slavery, and the imaums formed committees to 
aid the British wounded. And so it was up-country 
in the native Jcraals, where the ignorant blacks, des- 
pite the overbearing conduct of colonists to " damned 
niggers," had learned the equality of British justice 
for black or white, and were full of loyalty to 
*' our mother the Queen," even as they expressed 
terrible hatred of the Boers. 

But, to the war ! 

170 



CHAPTEK VII 

Natal. — The Invasion South, — Armored Train Disas- 
ter. — Breaking Communications. — Willow Grange. 
— Ladysmith during Siege. — Formation of Reliev- 
ing Column. — Buller's arrival. — Commissariat of 
THE British Army. — Hospital Service. — Ready for 
Battle. 

Hildyaed's was the first brigade to reach Durban. 
The enemy was then ravaging the country around 
Pietermaritzburg and menacing the capital. Having 
shut in White but failing to take Ladysmith by an 
attack in force on November 9th, Joubert threw a 
column boldly across the Tugela. By moving round 
the flanks of British posts along the railroad, the 
advance guard started with a clear march to the 
coast, threatening the line at all points. The fight- 
ing of the Ladysmith garrison had disillusioned the 
least sanguine burgher as to the bravery of the hither- 
to despised British soldier, and caused this raid to be 
carried out with caution ; though the surprise was 
mutual, for Natal was dumbfounded at the steady 
march south. Many who knew the Boer well de- 
clared that one salutary lesson would send the 
burghers home ; but Talana, Elandslaagte, and Riet- 

171 



In South Africa with Buller 

fontein had but served as spurs to urge them to 
greater effort. They had not planned with passion ; 
they executed without haste, but without hesitancy. 
Factional exigencies at first marred their unity of 
purpose, but the short campaign had evolved decisive 
resolution and consecutive execution. In place of a 
horde of herders, an effective, well-armed enemy, with 
the advantage of choice of position unusually fitted 
for defence, was to be faced. The rapid arrival of 
the first brigade of the relief column disconcerted the 
advanced commandoes, and they planned at once to 
cut the railroad line at various points and stay the 
advance, abandoning their raid to the coast, though 
already the very heart of the colony was at their 
mercy. 

But even at Durban there was some alarm until 
Hildyard arrived, though the presence of the fleet 
rendered such fears ridiculous. The Jackies were 
spoiling for a fight. The excitement of seizing prizes 
hardly sufficed, and there was little to be gained but 
hard work in overhauling neutral ships. British naval 
officers were amused at the howl of indignation raised 
at their " unprecedented " action in holding up ships 
going to a port directly connected with the enemy. 
For precedent they refer to the Civil War, when 
American warships held up vessels bound for neutral 
ports in the Bahamas and which contained only food 
and clothing, ultimately destined, but without proof, 
for blockade runners supplying the Confederates. 

172 



A Seizure of Sixty-Two 

Toward the close of 1862, the British steamers 
" Calypso," " Ruby " and " Flora," bound for Nassau 
with supplies, coaled at Funchal, Madeira. While 
in port, thousands of miles from the scene of war, 
they were held up by the United States warship 
" Tuscarora," under Commodore Craven, who cleared 
for action and waited just beyond the three-mile 
limit. Forbidden to leave port at night, and capture 
being imminent by day, the steamers finally decided 
rather to risk the Portuguese guns, and they ran out 
under cover of the darkness. With the aim of their 
Spanish cousins, the gunners at Loo Fort failed 
to hit the mark; but their shots alarmed the 
" Tuscarora," which opened with a broadside on the 
" Calypso." 

Unfortunately, Craven had relied on the Portu- 
guese to hold the ships through the night, and was 
caught unawares, his three prizes finally escaping 
in the darkness, though enough shots were fired 
to have sunk the vessels had there been sufficient 
light for the Yankee gunners. These were British 
ships sailing from one English port to another, but 
the commodore was within his instructions, and the 
prize court would have sustained his captures. It 
was refreshing to hear that a certain politician now 
threatened war because a British warship seized the 
British steamer " Mashona," which happened to have 
American supplies on board, bound for the Transvaal, 
if without the knowledge of the shippers. 

173 



In South Africa with Buller 

Natal is the most progressive country in Africa, 
thanks to a large preponderance of loyalists over 
colonial Boers, and the influx of a considerable num- 
ber of German farmers who have proved excellent 
colonists. Leaving party squabbles severely alone, 
the progressive Natalians have expended their energy 
in the improvement of the colony, and it stands a 
monument to the British colonial system. 

In South Africa the nationality of the owner of a 
homestead can be told at a glance. The Britisher 
takes some pride in his farm and dwelling, however 
humble. The Boer, on the contrary, fences in as 
much land as he can get, throws up a shanty, and is 
content. Trees, local improvements, intelligent irri- 
gation are not for him — he squats like a Cuban 
guajiro, without one of the excuses of the latter. 
The refuse of years is scattered over the ranch, his 
stoop commands a muck heap, where the Britisher, 
however poor, insists on his flower-garden. I have 
been greeted in Dutch from farms the picture of 
neatness ; I found the owners were Hollanders, retain- 
ing the inherent cleanliness of their race ; and with 
such may be classed the Germans and Danes. 

In the comfortable settlements in Natal the Boers 
found a land of promise, " flowing with milk and 
honey " and defenceless against their looting. Com- 
mandoes swept down from Helpmakaar through the 
Umvoti, annexing the districts, appointing one Vor- 
mack of Boeotian intelligence, landdrost at Umsinga. 

174 



Invasion of Natal 

Through local traitors, the homes of the absent 
Umvoti Rifle Volunteers, several of German extrac- 
tion, were " marked with B " and ruthlessly looted. 
Their hapless wives and children were turned out in 
the storm with permission to enter and help eat out 
Ladysmith, or make their way down country as they 
might. These human locusts then swept south 
through the Highlands, where the unfortunate farm- 
ers from North Natal had driven their flocks for 
safety. Every ranch was filled with the stock of 
refugees, and the Boers made rich hauls, ruthlessly 
destroying the homes of loyalists, smashing the fur- 
niture and fittings, and killing poultry and such 
animals as could not be removed. The Cooper's 
sheep-dip stored at several of the farms was poured 
into the ponds and wells to poison horse and man 
drinking therefrom. 

The wholesale commandeering from the neutral 
heurlings and summary execution of the blacks who 
opposed it only add to the injustice of the raid. 
The Catholic missions in northern Natal suffered 
severely. The peaceful nuns, many Irish Sisters of 
Charity, were forced to flee, and suffered great in- 
dignities. They gathered, however, to nurse sick 
and wounded soldiers at Eastcourt, Maritzburg, and 
Durban, and in common with the devoted nuns of 
Mafeking, Ladysmith, and Kimberley, they have 
earned the everlasting gratitude of the British army. 

The Natalians had gathered at the stations on the 
175 



In South Africa with Buller 

railroad, where they joined the volunteers mobilized 
to defend the colony. The Rifle Associations were 
also enrolled for defence under Symons and Ross; 
but these local forces and the small garrison at 
Eastcourt were only able to guard the towns and 
railroads, and could do little to check the raiders who 
dodged around them on the flanks, or Joubert and 
the centre commandoes advancing direct, through 
Colenso, from Ladysmith. 

Colonel Long, commandant at Eastcourt, prepared 
to defend the township, though he must eventually 
have retired but for the tardy advent of two naval 
quick-firers from Durban. The navy had seemed 
not too ready to detach men and guns for land 
service, though, when the grave aspect in Natal 
was appreciated on the flagship, guns and sailors 
were landed, narrowly averting more serious disas- 
ter in Ladysmith, where the field guns were out- 
ranged and ineffective against the improved guns of 
the Boers. Incidentally, criticism of Admiral Harris 
for his delay in aiding the military led to the duck- 
ing of a certain well known Cape editor by a party 
of naval officers ; who overlooked British fairness, and 
have been pulled up sharply for their folly. 

The mountings of the naval guns for field service 
deserve special notice. Captain Scott, R. N., secured 
ordinary broad-tired wagon-wheels, bolted a stout 
pile to the deck gun-mounting for a trail, and thus 
rigged field carriages for the heavy 12-pounders. 

176 



The Armored Train in Action 

Carriages for the 4.7 Lyddite were also constructed 
from piles. Though experts prophesied that the 
baulks would be splintered by the recoil, and the 
fastenings torn out, the guns, ranged for high-angle 
fire, threw shell 9,000 yards and 12,000 yards respec- 
tively, and equalled the Creusots of the enemy. 
Jack is a born wag, and ere the guns were despatched 
up country, inscriptions were placed on each. " For 
what we are about to receive, may the Lord make 
us truly thankful. Oom Paul " and " Those who 
sup with me will require a devil of a long spoon " 
ranked with others more original if less pertinent. 

The armored train, first used, perhaps, in war by 
the French in their successful sortie on the Saarbruck 
road, has played an important part in South African 
warfare without enhancing its value. It was used 
daily for reconnaissance beyond Eastcourt with slight 
success, and well earned its name " the death trap." 
On November 15th the train with one company each, 
the Dublin Fusiliers under Captain Haldane, and the 
Durban volunteers under Captain Wylie, went up 
the line to reconnoitre beyond Frere. Boer pickets 
were observed on the hills, but the train went reck- 
lessly forward to Chieveley, where it became en- 
gaged with the enemy and started to retire. It was 
wrecked on the steep gradient toward Frere, and 
the concealed enemy, bursting from the kopjes, 
opened on the overturned cars with guns and rifles. 
Under a terrific fire several men were shot before they 
12 177 



In South Africa with Buller 

could extricate themselves from the wreck. The un- 
injured cars, cased in sheet iron and without entrance, 
were not shell proof, and the troops were forced to 
clamber out of the open tops to seek cover beyond 
the permanent way. Numbers were thus shot down. 

Lieutenant Frankland was the only officer unhurt, 
and with the English Mr. Winston Churchill, who is, 
of course, American on his mother's side, and a few 
volunteers, he started to clear the wreck. The ter- 
rible Vickers Maxim poured in a continual stream 
of shells, its incessant phut-phut sounding like a 
freight-yard shunter, as it was directed first on the 
engine, then on the damaged trucks. Covered by 
the ineffectual firing of their comrades, the party 
worked with a will, however, and the line was finally 
levered clear under a hail of projectiles. The unin- 
jured trucks were then pushed up ; but a shell had 
destroyed the engine coupling, steam was escaping 
from the boiler in a dozen places, and delay in coupling 
the cars with rope would have sealed its fate. The 
dead and wounded, therefore, were loaded on the 
tender, and while the survivors held the Boers in 
check, Wegner turned on steam. Two parting 
shells burst among his freight of wounded, mangling 
them terribly, but the leaking locomotive finally ran 
clear, and dashed off to Eastcourt for help. 

After aiding the engineer to run out of range, 
Churchill dropped off the cab and returned to assist 
the troops, who were now losing heavily. When 

178 



Hildyard's Brigade 

their last cartridge had been expended some stood 
by their wounded and were forced to surrender; 
others, who attempted to escape, were followed and 
shot down by Boer horsemen. The survivors were 
sent to Pretoria, only fifty of the entire party escap- 
ing scathless. 

General Hildyard arrived at Eastcourt on the day 
of the disaster to prepare camp for his brigade. 
Native scouts, Basutos employed for this service, 
reported the Boers closing rapidly on the township. 
There were but 150 mounted troops in the command, 
a mixed force of volunteers and police under Colonel 
Martyn. They were soon in touch with Joubert's 
advance, but could do little to check the enemy, 
several patrols having narrow escapes. The Boers, 
however, fearing a rear attack from Weenen, which 
was unoccupied, detoured half their command from 
the railroad in that direction, and it was three days 
before they appeared in force before Eastcourt. 

The West Yorkshire regiment and Naval artillery 
detachment had arrived in the interval, and as a com- 
mando moved from Gourton road and halted beside 
the railroad bridge beyond the town, which it ex- 
pected to capture with ease, the naval gunners 
dropped shell into it, and caused a speedy retire- 
ment. The remainder of Hildyard's brigade was 
then hurried up from Durban, and Joubert decided 
against attacking. He moved his forces round the 
flanks, reinforcing the looting column that had moved 

179 



In South Africa with Buller 

South through Umvoti to break communications with 
Maritzburg. 

Handicapped by lack of cavalry, field artillery, 
and transport, the British commander was perhaps 
justified in delaying aggressive operations until 
he had prepared for the defence of Eastcourt. Yet, 
as the Boers marched in comparatively broken com- 
mands, looting an extensive district, it is open to de- 
bate whether some hard blows might not have been 
struck to check the unopposed march southward. 

Barton's brigade, which had followed Hildyard's 
closely, was hurrying to the front, when the Boers 
who had moved round Hildyard's flank seized 
the railroad behind him at Highlands and Willow 
Grange, forcing the two companies of the Queen's 
holding the stations to retire. Thus, by what Mr. 
Young would call chessboard strategy, they checked 
Barton's advance at Mooi River and isolated East- 
court. A strong force with artillery occupied 
Mitcheson's Cutting, tearing up the line. The 
Ermelo commando simultaneously destroyed the 
railroad from Eastcourt to Colenso through Chieve- 
ley and Ennersdale. Making bonfires with the 
tarred sleepers, the burghers brought the rails to 
a red heat and twisted them round adjoining tele- 
graph posts, thus rendering the relaying difficult. 

The Boers acted on the assumption, partly justi- 
fied by subsequent fact, that the British would not 
or could not leave the railroad. With astounding 

180 



A Local Barbara Frietchie 

boldness parties of the mobile enemy shelled the 
camp at Mooi River, then passed rapidly on round 
Barton's flank, looting farms close to Weston and 
seizing much stock destined for the Mooi River 
abattoirs. The railroad at Nottingham road was 
then occupied, and Barton's communications with 
Maritzburg obstructed. Thus two important British 
commands, impotent through lack of transport and 
cavalry, were rendered temporarily ineffective by 
a body of raiders. The stock of the Natal Stud 
company proved a valuable remount depot for the 
Boers, who cleared every animal from the com- 
pound, including numerous chargers that would 
soon have fetched fancy prices from British officers. 

The loyal farmers paid dearly for their loyalty. 
While they guarded the towns the Boers raided 
the defenceless homesteads as far south and west 
as Impendlila, shooting such as dared resist them. 
Mr. Rawlinson, a prominent colonial, was killed 
by Boshof ; but most of the males were absent, and 
the defenceless women and children fled in abject 
terror before the invaders. Many plucky women, 
however, defied the enemy and remained alone to 
guard their homes. 

Like the postmistress of Lady Grey, who tore 
down the vierkleur and hoisted the Union Jack in 
the centre of an invading commando, or Barbara 
Frietchie of earlier fame, one brave Scotchwoman, 
nailing a flag over the lintel, confronted a looting 

181 



In South Africa with Buller 

party with a stout cudgel and sharp tongue. A 
lusty Boer, attempting to force an entrance to the 
house, was repulsed with a cracked pate, which 
raised a laugh against him. Some then suggested 
burning her out, but the veldt cornet intervened, 
and the simple Christians contented themselves with 
driving off her stock, looting the widow's mealies 
from an outhouse, and stealing her Cape cart to 
remove the same. (Matthew xxiii. 14.) 

This wholesale devastation has proved a hard 
blow to plucky little Natal, which for its own de- 
fence has spent $150,000 a month on the local 
volunteers. The colonists have also contributed 
liberally to destitute Uitlanders, and in the final 
settlement some grant of land or special railroad 
concessions should be made to reimburse the 
colony. 

Thorneycroft's Horse and Bethuen's Horse skir- 
mished along the lines of communication, the former 
attacking the enemy as they looted the farms of 
Cope and Turner near Mooi River station, forcing 
them to release the two captured families; though 
the seized stock and furniture had previously been 
removed. Some Natal police also found the enemy 
looting along the incomplete Greytown line, through 
the thorn country, and drove them off with loss. 
But these forces were as effective as Dame Part- 
ington's broom. Ten times stronger numerically, 
these irregulars could have swept back the in- 

182 



The Battle of Willow Grange 

vaders, inflicting salutary lessons with a mobility 
and tactics equal to the Boers. But unfortunate- 
ly, with the material in plenty for the asking, Eng- 
land has not fostered her colonial auxiliaries, — a 
striking proof in South Africa that war was not 
antisipated. 

Hildyard did not long remain idle at Eastcourt. 
Severely hampered by the lack of cavalry, he de- 
cided to make a night attack on the main Boer 
position to clear the line south to Mooi River. On 
the afternoon of November 22d the general felt 
his way forward toward Willow Grange. The 
West Yorks were on the left, the East Surrey in 
the centre, and the Queen's (West Surrey) on the 
right, the Border Regiment supporting, with the 7th 
Field Battery and a heavy naval quick firer hauled 
by thirty oxen. The force reached M'Konghlwani, 
or Beacon Hill, without opposition and by stupen- 
dous effort the naval gun was hauled up the pre- 
cipitous sides of the " Hill of Mists," and placed 
in position commanding the enemy's main battery 
on Brynbella Hill. The Boer gunners under 
Krantz speedily found the British gun and opened 
very accurately with a heavy Creusot. This fire 
was silenced, however, before sunset. 

The infantry halted on the hill in the most 
frightful hailstorm within Natal's memory, pass- 
ing many miserable hours of that bitterly cold 
night until the order was given to advance, to sur- 

183 



In South Africa with Buller 

prise the sleeping laagers. The West Yorks and 
the Surreys under Colonel Kitchener, guided by a 
local farmer named Chapman, advanced silently 
against the position, and commenced to climb Bryn- 
bella. The Yorks, who were assailing the western 
slope, losing direction in the darkness, crossed 
over a lower portion of the ridge, and were fired 
into by the Surrey men climbing up on that side ; 
and the lines clashed with fixed bayonets, several 
being killed and wounded ere the mistake was 
discovered. 

The Boers were thoroughly alarmed, however, and 
as the British turned and scrambled up to the higher 
portion of the crest they were met with a withering 
fire. Guided by the rifle flashes, and not waiting to 
reply, they closed in with the bayonet, the burghers 
flying en masse down the hillside, leaving their 
horses, hobbled in their brutal three-legged fashion, 
on the summit, and all their camp effects. The hill 
was captured just before daybreak. 

Commandant Joubert, nephew to the general, was 
in command at Willow Grange, though the similarity 
of names led the British generals to report the 
commandant general as commanding in person, and 
General Buller's oflicial despatch shows the same 
error. Realizing the danger of placing himself be- 
tween two forces, the younger Joubert had secured 
a line of retreat through roads running to Greytown, 
from which he could circle round to Ladysmith 

184 



The Battle of Willow Grange 

again. He had been apprised of a movement on 
the south of Mooi River, the commando at Notting- 
ham road had been forced to evacuate before they 
had effectively destroyed the line, and the appear- 
ance of the naval gun before him led him to fear 
a concerted attack on both sides. The sailors' 
shells of the afternoon also had been ranged to a 
nicety, and the gunners desired no resumption at 
daybreak. 

Under cover of the darkness they had made prepa- 
rations to hastily change their position; the heavy 
gun had been taken to a place of safety, the five 
field guns were removed to a succeeding crest. The 
commandoes had just bivouacked on the two ridges, 
when the British attacked and drove them from 
Brynbella. 

The mounting of the naval gun in broad daylight 
had thus marred the surprise which otherwise would 
have led to the capture of the Boer artillery and to 
a decisive rout. For a night surprise this gun should 
never have been mounted. Its appearance naturally 
interpreted an intended move to the watchful enemy, 
and its shells had hastened the change of position. 

As the sun rose and the British prepared to follow 
up the retreating Boers, they were greeted by a 
terrific artillery and rifle fire from the succeeding 
ridge, and were gradually forced back over the 
crest. Other commandoes closed in. The luckless 
naval gun dare not shell with the British within 

185 



In South Africa with Duller 

range, the field battery was likewise masked, and 
without artillery support the slender forces were 
obliged to retire. The hill that had been captured 
with a loss of four was evacuated with a casualty 
list of over a hundred. The regiments were stead- 
ily withdrawn under a dropping fire, the companies 
consecutively retiring and covering retirement. The 
Natal volunteers pluckily supported this movement, 
and carried down the wounded through a hail of 
bullets. While thus engaged. Chapman the guide, 
Fitzpatrick, brother of the author and reform leader, 
and other prominent colonials were killed. 

Some British wounded were overlooked, however, 
during the retirement, every step of which was cov- 
ered by the Boers. They received excellent treat- 
ment from the Free State ambulance before they 
were exchanged. Many of the burghers admitted 
their surprise that they had not been able to swoop 
down and seize Durban. 

News now came that a force of Boers was menac- 
ing Eastcourt on the northwest, and Hildyard with- 
drew his troops to hold the town. The enemy soon 
retired, and plans for a second attack on Willow 
Grange were formulated; but Joubert, finding that 
a small column under the Earl of Dundonald was 
feeling its way from Mooi River, and another sortie 
from Eastcourt was imminent, withdrew his guns 
and wagons on the 25th. Circling round Hildyard 
within tempting striking distance, the entire Boer 

186 



THE 



LADYSMITH 

"Let him Lia"— OW Song. 



LYRE, 



Vol. r No. 1. 



27th NOVKMBER, 1899. 



Price — 6d. 



FROSPEGTTTS 



The Ladysmith Lyre is published to supply a long felt 
"Want. What you want in a besieged town, cut off from 
the world, is news which you can absolutely rely on as 
false. The rumours that pass from tongue to tongue 
may, for all you know, be occasionally true. Our news 
we guarantee to be false. 

In the colleotion and preparation of falsehoods we 
shall spare no effort and no expense. It is enough for us 
that Lidysmieh H-antsstories ; ib shall have them. 



LATEST LYRES. 
From odb own Despondlnts. 



London, NovumberT). 

Aehellfrtm Lnn^ Tom burst in the War Office this 
afteruooii. General Braclceubury, Dh-ector General of 
Ordnance, accepted its arrival with resignation. Several 
reputations were seriously damaged. Unfortunately the 
Ordnance Committee was not sitting. A splinter broke 
nto the Foreign Office and disturbed the siesta of the 
Prime Minister. 

Mr. A. J. Balfour has prepared a third edition of 
" Philosophic Doubt." The work contains a new 
rhapter on the doubts entertained by the Cabinet as 
to the probabilities of war with the Transvaal. The 
First Lord of the Trer.sury has dedicated the edition 
to his uiicle, Lord Salisbury. 

Tlie artillery intended for the campaign in South 
Africa will he despatched as soon as the necessary 
ammunition has been received from the German 
factories. 

The Lord Rlayor has appointed a Mansion House 
Committee for the relief of Ladysmith. 

ilr. Michael Davitt, Dr. Tanner, Mr. Dillon, and 
Mr. Swift McNeill have announced their intention of 
joining the Irish Brigade The House of Commons, 
witliout demur, voted a grant in aid. 

The Second Army Ccrps has been discovered m 
the pigeon holes of the War Office. 

Omdurman, November 13. 

The Khalifa has returned to his palace on the 
Nile. Lord Kitchen-5r is at Fashoda. He is march- 
ing south to raise the siege of Ladysmith. 

Paris, November 10. 

ilajor Slarchand has organised an expedition to 
the sources of the Klip River. It is rumoured that 
his object is to prevent the junction of the British 
forces north and south of the Tugeta. The Govern- 
ment of the Republic has been warned that this will 
be regarded as " an unfriendly act." 

The exhibition has been put off until the end of 
the 20th century in order that France may devote 
her energies to the subjugation of Great Britain. 

Adis Adeba, November 2. 

Mouelik has declared war against France. He has 
appealed to Great Britain for assistance. 

Later. 

I am informed on the highest authority that 
Menelik has declared war against Great Britain, and 
has appealed to France for assistance. 

Johannesburg, November ID. 

Having learned through the medium of The 
Standard and Dujger^ News that the Johannesburg 
commando are settled in Ladysmith with their wives 
and families, several hundred vrouwen left hurriedly 
for Natal this morning. New and interesting devel- 
opments are anticipated. 



It is possible, however, even in the best regulated 
uewspaper that some truths may unavoidably creep 
in. To save our readers the trouble of picking them 
out, these will be published in a special column by them- 
selves. This division of news, into true and false, ia 
an entirely new departure in the history of the public 
press. Whatever you read in the space devoted to 
truth, you may believe. The rest of the Ladys^nith 
Lyre you may believe, or not, as you like. 



St. Petersburg, November 20. 

The Czar has issued invitations to another Peace 
Conferunce. Pretori.i is mentioned as the probable 
meeting place. President Kruger has intimated that 
the South African Republic will not be represented. 
Vienna, April 1 

News has reached hero from a reliable source tlUt 
Lord Salisbury has tgreed to the terms of peace pro- 
posed by President Krufrer— the surrender of that 
rart of Natal now occupied by the Boers. 

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. 

General Clery has withdrawn his relieving colomn 
to the Mooi River. Maritzburg is almost deserted. 
Joube'rt has gone south with the greater part of his 

General Buller is at Cape Town. General French 
is not at Dundee. Through cable rates from Lady- 
smith to London have been reduced to 3d. per word. 

The Town Guard are undermining Umbulwaui. 
They propose to blow up the enemy's guns with 
c}anide of potassium. 

The resident magistrate at Tmtombi Camp has 
sent for hi? horses. He is d.?eply touched by thy 
reteption given to hi? sackful of letters and 

ilr. Schalk Burger has sci-t a protest against the 
Red Cross flag on the hospital at the Town Ualk 
He has since emphasised the protest by shelling the 
flag- 
General Joubert has been invited to dismantle the 
forts on Pepworth and Umbulwaui, and to send in 
a^ prisoners tho gunners who hoist the whito ilag 
over Long Tom and his brother Puffing Billy, in 
order that they may load and lay the guns in safety. 

Mrs. Kruger, whose health is es.cellcnt, complains 
that the President is becoming too English. He uo 
longer goes to bed in hat and boots. 

CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS! 

CHRISTSIAS PUDDINGS 1 1 

Ode Prize CoMPETmoK. 

Do you want a Christmas pudding? You will I 
This is how you can get it. 
This prize will be given for 

THE MOST MIBACUT.0U3 ESCAPE 

from the shell fire of the enemy between the dates of 
November 2 and December 20. The competition wul 
close on December 21st at 12 noon. 

So if you want a Christmas pudding delay no 
Icnger. Go out and have a miraculous escape aud 
send a description of it to 
The Editor of the Ladysmith Lyre, 

c/o the Manager of the Ludysmitk Lyre, 
c/o Mrs. Hay don, 
Main Street, 

Near 21st Street, F.B., 

JJadysmiib. 



Facsimile of front page of the paper issued during the siege op Ladysmith. 



Joubert Retires to Colenso 

force fell back through Weenen to the Tugela, where 
they took up a strong position at Colenso. During 
the retirement the heavy Creusot became stuck in a 
donga, and within five miles of the British a small 
force of Boers worked a day and night extricating 
the piece, which would have proved a valuable prize 
had the proper cavalry complement been at hand to 
follow up the retreat. General Joubert was present 
during the retirement, travelling in a six-horsed 
"parish oven." 

Hildyard's tiny mounted column could do nothing 
until Lord Dundonald's fl3dng column pressed for- 
ward from Mooi River. The combined forces then 
started in hot pursuit, sighting the Boers beyond 
Frere. They failed to outmarch them, however, but 
" bit their heels " with artillery and rifles to within 
two miles of Colenso, where heavy Boer guns were in 
position, and the British advance was checked. 

Hildyard now moved his camp to Frere, where 
General Clery assumed command on December 2d, 
to prepare for the immediate relief of Ladysmith. 
General BuUer, leaving the direction of the western 
and central divisions of his army to their respective 
generals, had arrived in Natal to personally supervise 
the more important operations there. He established 
his headquarters at Pietermaritzburg. 

The railroad bridge across the Blaauwkrans River 
at Frere had been carefully destroyed by the enemy, 
checking Clery 's advance up country. The railroad 

187 



In South Africa with Buller 

company had expected the military, and hurried 
their staff forward to repair the line. In an incredi- 
bly short period, under the direction of Mr. Shores, 
chief engineer, and Mr. Hunter, the general manager, 
a trestle bridge 200 feet long, in seventeen spans, 
was constructed beside the ruined structure, the 
rails were carried over the river and reverted to 
the original track. Guarded by an armored train, 
repair-trucks were pushed forward and rapidly re- 
laid the line which the Boers had taken so much 
pains to destroy. 

Colonel Girouard, one constructor of the Canadian 
Pacific, the famous Bimbashi Girouard, director- 
general of railroads in Egypt, the man who con- 
quered the Soudan by steam engine, was acting 
military director of railroads in South Africa. He 
was ordered to Natal to supervise these operations, 
but the wonderful colonials were before him, and he 
could only inspect their work with a hearty "well 
done." 

Trains now rapidly arrived at the front with troops 
and stores. Hildyard's brigade held the advance on 
some ridges beyond the river. They cleverly in- 
trenched their position, masking their defences so 
that adventurous Boer scouts blundered into the trap 
and were her Majesty's guests forthwith. 

The permanent camp soon spread, the General 
Staff occupying the ransacked house of the station 
master, the troops pitching their tents on the sur- 

188 



Communicating with White 

rounding veldt. The regulars, awaiting complete 
mobilization, were employed in extensive garrison, 
fatigue and outpost duty. The Natal forces, aug- 
mented by Uitlander volunteers, and the colonial 
scouts recruited from local farmers who knew every 
inch of the country rapidly checked the raiding 
parties, and by surprise visits to the outlying farms 
of suspected traitors, much looted stock and furniture 
that had been stored by the enemy was recovered. 
Without specific reason the splendid mounted 
volunteers gathered by Colonel Wolfe-Murray were 
disbanded when General Buller arrived ; and on the 
assumption of military superiority, the relief column 
lost the services of a most useful force. 

Little definite news could be gleaned from Lady- 
smith ; occasional runners made their way through 
the lines with despatches, and winged messengers of 
the pigeon post organized by Mr. Hirst sometimes 
escaped the Boer rifles and brought down missives in 
safety. But after many attempts and repeated 
failure through the weather. Captain Cayzer of the 
Dragoons finally established heliograph communica- 
tions with White, from Mount Umkolanda near 
Weenen. A naval searchlight of 40,000 candle 
power was also rigged to overcome solar reticence in 
flashing despatches to the besieged, though Ladysmith 
could not answer in kind, and the Boers sometimes 
spoiled the effect by a powerful acetylene searchlight. 

The garrison was holding out bravely. The town 
189 



In South Africa with Buller 

had been heavily shelled throughout November, but 
the losses had been comparatively small. On Novem- 
ber 4th White had asked permission to send women 
and children south, but Joubert refused. He finally 
agreed to respect a mutual district near Bulwhana 
for non-combatants, though his indiscriminate 
gunners dropped several shells into the settlement, 
which the facetious "Tommies" named Funkum- 
dorf. Despite continual protest the military hos- 
pitals were also shelled repeatedly, several patients 
and some nurses being killed. On the 9th the Boers 
had attempted to rush the town, but the attack was 
repulsed after severe fighting and loss on both sides. 
After this, Joubert decided to reduce Ladysmith 
by investment, and detached many commandoes to 
carry the war south and prevent the approach of 
relief. On the 18th a shell killed Dr. Stark, the well 
known naturalist, who was overtaken by war while 
completing his history of South African birds. The 
continued shelling had caused remarkably small loss, 
however, but scarcity of food, dearth of pasture for the 
cattle and horses, and the contamination of the water 
supply by Boer camps higher up the Klip caused the 
only dread for the future. Many women and children 
were enduring the rigors of the siege, and several 
had died of disease and wounds. 

The days in Frere camp passed quickly enough. 
Thomas Atkins at home and abroad is philosophical 

190 



rr%#ft^% 




The Siege of Ladysmith : non-combatants taking a breath of air. 
From a sketch by W. T. Maud. 



** Tommy '* in War 

withont reasoning. "Delightful darlings," said one 
enthusiastic American lady as the Dragoons passed 
through Cape Town. - Perhaps a closer acquaintance 
would have toned her opinion, but Tommy is an in- 
stitution to be admired, — in a degree, loved. He 
is a jewel in a crude setting, rough, impulsive, good- 
hearted, and generous to a fault, and the army is a 
school that fosters magnanimity. Rigorous disci- 
pline eradicates selfishness, and the communistic 
idea that dominates in the ranks is so prevalent in 
no other strata of society. I have known an entire 
battalion to suffer in silence for the wrong committed 
by one soldier, of which every man knew. The young 
recruit who thinks to win the favor of his superiors 
and release his comrades by betraying the culprit re- 
ceives such a lesson that, if he does not desert forth- 
with, he will be permanently steadied and become a 
better and wiser soldier. 

In the field Tommy is no longer a thing of beauty. 
The guardsman discards his cuirass and shiny jack- 
boots ; the gunner's braid, the linesman's scarlet, and 
the fusilier's busby are gone. Khaki levels most dis- 
tinctions, and attired in dust color, from helmet to 
undressed boots, close scrutiny alone reveals the dif- 
ference between her Majesty's guardsman and the 
green roohey smuggled from the depot by the drafted 
veterans to become a "soldier and a man "and be 
added to the strength at the front, with a District 
court-martial to reward him if he survives the war. 

191 



In South Africa with Buller 

But even he is content; he 'listed to fight, and fought 
he has, the penalty notwithstanding. 

The British soldier is a glutton for fighting. At 
Eastcourt two worthies of the Dublins, veritably 
Mulvany and Learoyd, had lifted a bottle of " square 
face " from the captured laager at Willow Grange. 
A subsequent night's outpost proved cold and wet, 
and consequent nips to drive out rheumatism (their 
excuse was the gout) led two shame-faced full pri- 
vates before a drum-head, with six months' hard 
labor apiece for "drunk on duty in time of war." 
They had nothing to say why sentence should not 
be pronounced, but asked (and received), as a favor, 
deferment in the execution thereof until after the 
war. Their main discussion then was the chances of 
their being incarcerated in British Pretoria or going 
home with the regiment to see "her" before they 
went to "clink." But one has expiated before a 
higher tribunal, killed at Colenso. The other, I be- 
lieve, may yet serve out his sentence, though the day 
perhaps is afar. 

When the column moved forward, and fighting 
was imminent, the quartermaster sergeants reported a 
number of sick men returned to duty without regular 
transfers. The pressure on the Medical Staff corps 
was adjudged an excuse for this negligence. Then 
a report arrived at headquarters from the P. M. O. 
at Pietermaritzburg, announcing wholesale desertion 
of patients marked "Up Bed down," many of them 

192 



The Spirit of the Soldier 

wounded from Willow Grange. On the eve of battle 
there was no time to look up the defaulters ; but after 
the action the P. M. O. reported that certain of the 
delinquents had been brought back, wounded again, 
from the front. The others were soon traced, and 
lined up before a gray-haired colonel as " absent from 
hospital without leave." There was a perceptible 
tremor in his voice as he rated them, severely for 
their breach of discipline and the enormity of their 
crime, and he stopped to clear his throat once or 
twice. After a severe wigging these "desperados" 
were sent back to their wards. 
■ I could fill pages to show the spirit animating the 
soldiers in Africa, and give the lie direct to the mis- 
taken gentleman who visited the Transvaal when 
an official of the United States government. Over- 
whelmed by the attentions and private coach of 
President Kruger, he has anonymously libelled the 
British army by declaring that officers were forced 
to slash their soldiers with their swords to keep 
them in the trenches — as great a truism as the pre- 
mature cartoon in "Don Quixote," that pictured 
General Miles on a donkey, lashing the American 
troops into line to face the Spanish foe. 

With picket, outpost, and railroad guard at night, 
and fatigue duty by day, Frere camp was not a pic- 
nic. Much of the rough work was too arduous for 
white men to perform with safety under South 
Africa's sun. But a native contingent, enrolled by 
13 193 



In South Africa with Buller 

Mr. Barnes, colonial engineer, afterwards saved the 
troops much toil, and the native compounds gave 
"Tommy" endless recreation when the tireless Kaffirs 
and Zulus squirmed and screamed through the in- 
tricacies of their war-dances or engaged in faction 
fights, when skulls were struck with the vehemence 
of Donnybrook, though hard is the blow that can 
harm the cast-iron native pate. Hunts for the 
abundant puff-adder, tournaments between scorpions, 
cricket and football, with the glass above 100, and 
dips in the sorry Blaauwkrans river redubbed at 
Frere " Margate Sands " served to pass the waiting 
hours. 

Storms in Natal are common and various; the 
veldt is alternately soaring heavenward in a choking 
swirl of red dust, or drinking in the flood of periodic 
downpours to become a slough for man and beast. 
By day the South African sun beats down with a 
truly Gold Coast force, but without the fetid swamp 
to turn the heat to humidity; at night one shivers 
with a blast that chills to the marrow. Alternately 
you covet the furs of the esquimaux and the Ashanti's 
necklace. 

Abnormal deflection of the southeast trade-winds 
to south and southeastern Africa made the summer 
an exceedingly wet one, though the rains produced 
ultimate good. But the deflection imposed a fright- 
ful calamity on another portion of the empire, caus- 
ing one of the most frightful famines in India's 

194 



Khaki 

modern history, supplemented by the incumbent 
horrors of the plague. 

Khaki, I believe, was used first in the days of the 
John Company's service. The official who adopted 
it for general campaign use deserves that his name 
go down with fame. In the curious sun-haze of the 
tropics it is well-nigh invisible, and since the reflec- 
tion on spur or scabbard is visible for miles, every- 
thing was treated with the dust color, even to lance 
points, and the nose of a bibulous camp-follower who 
"groused" at the "Tommies," and was duly tried by- 
them and treated with the prevailing color as a safe- 
guard to the camp. The white horses of the cavalry 
and transport were washed in Condy's fluid, which 
gave the required tint without the fatal effect of the 
coating applied to the historical "white" elephant. 

It is evident that, with the weapons of the present 
day, no attacking force otherwise garbed could live 
before the fire of intrenched defenders. With khaki, 
the lines in extended order on the sun-browned veldt 
are a poor and difficult target beyond five hundred 
yards, and this invisibility in a measure neutralizes 
the deadliness of flat trajectory and increased range 
and dangerous zone of modern warfare. The officers 
had learned the lesson slowly, for tradition dies hard 
in the British army, and not until unerring bullets 
had picked off some of the bravest and best did they 
perceive that polished buttons and regulation sword 
meant useless death before the Boer sharpshooters. 

195 



In South Africa with Buller 

Now they carried carbines, and had little insignia 
to mark them apart from their men. The unwritten 
law that an officer must never duck, and, eschewing 
cover, should inspire confidence in his men by walk- 
ing erect along the line, was sustained well into the 
war, and still has weight. Before modern rifles the 
risk is obvious and the rule calamitous, since the sight 
of officers falling demoralizes the finest troops. 

Wellington found that the British army marched 
on its belly. Certainly with the Army Service corps 
of the last few years there is no reason why it should 
not. War, and not an expected war, was proved in- 
evitable on October 1st, and in eight weeks an 
army corps fully equipped was operating nine thou- 
sand miles away, replete in every detail, as the 
advertisements say. 

It is estimated, from the experience of the Prussians 
marching to Paris, that a force of 35,000 men and 
10,000 horses can live, in an average country, off a 
district of six square miles for one day. With cattle 
driven off and farms looted, a force could exist in 
South Africa until it died of starvation. Conse- 
quently every ounce of food was necessarily sent from 
the Supply Depots. Before the extra divisions were 
mobilized, when most people bragged of Buller's 
Christmas in Pretoria, 12,000,000 pounds of canned 
meat had been delivered for the original South Afri- 
can field force. 

Though Australian and some Canadian meat has 
196 



A Question of Commissariat 

since been issued with great success, this was chiefly 
American beef delivered for a foreign army, which 
is very different from American beef for American 
soldiers. I have lived and thrived on this beef 
under the British flag in various climes at differ- 
ent times. But before and since Santiago, I have 
never met with the canned offal which there caused 
the death of many brave soldiers. The beef sup- 
plied to-day in South Africa bears little resem- 
blance to the ration sent to Cuba. 

Of biscuit, 12,000,000 pounds were shipped. A 
part of this ration was made from whole meal. The 
British army biscuit is harder to masticate than 
the finer grade of " hardtack " supplied to the United 
States army, and though it contains more nutriment, 
I believe too much of it is irritating to the bowels 
and produces dysentery. The wooden cases are lined 
with tin and the contents carefully protected, while 
in Cuba the gaping seams of the unlined boxes let 
in rain, imbibed the mud and spoilt tons of excel- 
lent ration ere it reached the front. The British 
field-bakeries also supply excellent fresh bread, which 
was a great though never supplied want in Cuba. 
400,000 lbs. of coffee; 200,000 lbs. of tea; 2,200,000 
lbs. of sugar; 800,000 lbs. of erhswurst, compressed 
vegetables, an excellent and healthful ration "made 
in Germany," used with success in the Franco Prus- 
sian War, and one the Quartermaster's Department 
should investigate without delay for garrisons in the 

197 



In South Africa with BuUer 

Antilles and Philipines ; 360, 000 tins of Swiss milk, 
400,000 lbs. of salt, and 60,000 tons of forage, — 
were early items shipped for the initial campaign. 
This supply has been regularly sustained by the aver- 
age weekly shipment of one and a half million rations. 

I must also include in the first consignment 500,000 
tins of the Machonochie ration of stewed beefsteak 
and vegetables. This has been tried successfully in 
several recent campaigns, and a similar or even better 
ration could be prepared for the United States War 
Department at a moderate figure. When a great and 
generous nation was ready to expend millions for its 
army in Cuba, the troops were starving on rancid 
pork and canned refuse from a beef-tea factory. The 
Machonochie is a full and luscious dinner of meat 
and vegetables for two men, in a portable can. The 
tin is self-opening and may be readily heated, or its 
contents eaten cold. In Cuba it would have proved 
a boon, even in a bi-weekly issue. It has been supple- 
mented in Africa by other compound rations, chiefly 
Scotch. The square cans used for all rations in the 
British army have every advantage for portability over 
the round cans supplied to the United States Army. 

One of the greatest hardships entailed on the 
American soldier has been the lack of anti-scorbutics 
when fresh meat and vegetables were not obtainable. 
400,000 lbs.' weight of lime-juice accompanied the 
African field force. In Ashanti an experimental 
issue of jam was made on alternate days with lime- 

198 



Camp Sanitation 

juice, with excellent results. 1,450,000 tins were 
now shipped with the above consignment. The pre- 
served fruit retains many useful properties of fresh 
vegetable food. 

Eighty tons of alum for purifying water, 6,000 lbs. 
of carbolic-acid powder, and 20 tons of chloride of 
lime are significant items in the light of the frightful 
defilation at Siboney, where there was no means to 
negative the evil which induced yellow fever and 
typhoid to an alarming extent. The perfect latrine 
system of the British army deserves emulation. The 
sinks are deeply dug a safe distance from camp, 
layers of earth and lime being thrown over by sen- 
tries at regular intervals, and each sink filled in after 
two days' use. 

Rum issued medicinally to every man before retir- 
ing, has been proved effective when troops are ex- 
posed on chill nights after great heat during the day. 
80,000 gallons were sent. In tropical West Africa I 
have found this to be an effective safeguard against 
the deadly night-dew for men not addicted to spirits. 
Its effect is neutralized with habitual, even if mod- 
erate, drinkers. 

The medical comfort panniers and boxes that 
accompany the British army on the march also de- 
serve notice. The sick and wounded in Cuba had 
the choice of rancid pork and hardtack or nothing. 
The British " Tommy " when sick is moderately 
dieted on port wine, chicken broth, and beef tea, 

19^ 



In South Africa with Buller 

though at times the demand exceeded the supply at 
the immediate front after important battles. By this 
means many men are rapidly nursed back to health 
at the field hospital, the sickness taken in its early 
stages being easily defeated without necessitating 
invaliding to the base for treatment. The M. C. 
panniers go on mule back with each bearer company 
and field hospital. They contain brandy, port, whis- 
key, arrowroot, sago, bovril, roast chicken, meat 
essence, special condensed milk, soap, candles, spirit 
lamp, cooking vessels, and matches. 

Forty thousand pounds of tobacco were shipped to 
be retailed to the soldiers at a nominal figure. This 
is the only approach made toward the excellent 
American system of instituting a government store 
at the advanced base on the field, where necessaries, 
and at times delicacies, can be purchased at a 
moderate price. The regimental coffee shop hardly 
supplies this want. Tons of tobacco, cigars, and 
cigarettes were sent with other extras for distribution 
to each regiment by various patriotic persons and 
societies in England and the colonies. 

The regulation daily ration per man is : meat, 
1 lb. ; biscuit or bread 1 lb. : tea ^ oz. ; coffee J oz. ; 
sugar, 3 oz. ; marmalade or jam, ^ lb. ; salt, |- oz. ; 
pepper, -^ oz. ; vegetables, 2 oz. ; lime-juice, |- oz. ; 
rum 1 pint. The canned-meat ration is supplemented 
when possible by rations of pea soup, bacon, and 
a new preparation of powdered egg called ovo. Beef 

200 



The Emergency Ration 

or mutton on the hoof is also obtained when possible. 
United States Quartermaster General, please copy. 

Each soldier also carries as part of his equipment 
an emergency ration so often advocated, apparently 
without effect, by General Miles. Such a ration will 
save many lives in every war. The regulation 
ration, packed compactly in a flattened oval tin with 
two compartments, consists of 4 oz. of compressed 
cocoa, honey, and Iceland moss, and 4 oz. of Austra- 
lian pemmican, — beef dried, ground to powder, and 
compressed. It can only be opened by order of an 
officer or in extremity, and will maintain strength for 
two days. 

Food for horse and mule forms an important item 
in South Africa. Three ordinary trusses of hay, each 
twenty inches thick, are forced by hydraulic pressure 
into an eighteen-inch bundle the original length of 
the truss. This mass, hard as wood, is then saAvn 
into three sections for easy transportation. A full 
ration per horse is oats 12 lbs., forage 20 lbs. 

To gauge the efficacy of the Woolwich Supply 
Department under Colonel Dunne, a single week's 
shipment early this year was — 

Meat . , 1,209,392 rations. Pepper. . 1,668,966 rations. 

Biscuit. . 1,174,600 " Vegetables 2,257,492 « 

Tea & Coffee 6,109,296 « Lime-juice 1,505,280 « 

Jam . . 2,091,936 " Rum . . 5,047,774 « 

Salt. . . 12,615,680 " Oats . . . . 1,825 tons. 

Sugar . . 6,336,667 « Hay .... 450 « 

201 



In South Africa with Buller 

All these supplies were carefully inspected before 
shipment, and tons were rejected for trivial short- 
comings. 

As the army of deliverance advanced to the front 
a line of pain moved from up-country hospitals to 
make room for fresh casualties. It was pitiful 
to witness the difference between the stalwart men 
"going up," eager for the fray, and the shattered 
wrecks who had borne the brunt of early battles. 
But the examples of war raised desire for reprisal 
rather than fear in the hearts of the new-comers, many 
of whom were destined ere long to be stark on the 
veldt or a regimental unit C/-Medical Staff corps. 

If war has increased in its horrors so have the 
means of mitigating its sufferings correspondingly 
progressed. A peep into the base-hospital at Wyn- 
berg, a high suburb of Cape Town, showed what 
might be accomplished in a short time. Some of the 
buildings sprang up or were improvised in a night, 
equipment was supplied with a generous hand, and 
Colonel Anthonisz, R. A. M. C, had the finest military 
hospital that war history records. Then there were 
hospitals at Durban, Maritzburg, and Eastcourt, 
besides the efficient field hospitals with the columns 
and various hospital ships, and several convalescent 
homes. 

I do not wish to make invidious comparisons between 
American and British wars under modern conditions. 

202 



Surgery and War 

But in care and commissariat the British soldier is 
a pampered epicure compared to the American, and 
when one sees the egregious blunders of the British 
leaders and the faults of their system, the thought 
will arise. What would Shafter's army have done 
under such conditions ? Spain's disabilities saved 
disaster in Cuba; but if another war should come, 
which God forbid, this nation should not again be 
found unprepared. Think of the handful of surgeons 
that landed in Cuba, and the frightful absence of 
equipment or common appliances. With BuUer's 
army in its original form were, 282 medical officers, 
68 contract surgeons, 56 nursing sisters, 28 quarter- 
masters, R. A. M. C, 2,650 hospital orderlies. This 
staff has been proportionately increased with the 
South African field force. 

As the fortunate recipient of three Mauser bullets 
I can testify to the merciful qualities of the modern 
rifle. The penetration and cleanly qualities of the 
nickel-plated bullets are too well known, perhaps, to 
need recapitulation. When Mr, Marshall, the war 
correspondent, was shot in the spine, such wounds 
were precedentedly fatal. A number of soldiers have 
surprised the British surgeons with similar recoveries. 
Men shot through the brain have also recovered. 
But unfortunately the Boers soon discovered the 
temporary disablement of the wounds that they in- 
flicted, and they speedily remedied the " defect." 

Prisoner after prisoner has been found with his 
203 



In South Africa with Buller 

ammunition doctored by an incised cross on the nose of 
the bullet, which makes it spread far more terribly than 
the Dum Bum. Some also have been found with 
their bullets plastered with verdigris. Individual 
British soldiers have retaliated by filing the tips 
of their bullets, after the Dum Dum pattern, until 
detected and the men severely punished. But pause 
in your denunciations, good people. Your horror of 
Boer barbarism may be mitigated by the knowledge 
that the evil of poisoned bullets is greatly mitigated 
by heat generated in discharge and the rapid flight 
through the air. The incised bullet contravenes 
civilized warfare, but the Boer individually knows not 
of Geneva conventions. As to the British Dum Dum, 
though I can positively state that it has not been 
issued in South Africa, it is certainly less inhumane 
than the leaden bullets of the Springfield used in Cuba, 
or those of any other rifle used in war before the 
recent adoption of coated pellets. 

The factory at Dum Dum, Calcutta, turns out sev- 
eral kinds of ammunition for Indian use, and the 
cases marked Dum Dum found by the Boers at Dun- 
dee contained regulation cartridges made there, — 
not Dum Dum bullets. Mr. Webster Davis is trium- 
phantly exhibiting split bullets of English make, 
"therefore used by Buller's forces." These bullets 
are nosed sporting bullets made by Eley of London. 
Tons of these have been shipped to the Boers for 
hunting, and I have seen several cases of them cap- 

204 



Improved Surgical Methods 

tured after various battles. They cannot be used 
in the Lee Metford rifle, and the fact of their imprint 
by a private London firm rather negatives than 
proves the charge that they are used by the British. 

Surgical science, indeed, is triumphing. With 
Rontgen rays in the field hospital, painful probing 
is obviated, shell splinters and certain bullets are 
extracted by magnetic contact, anaesthetics are admin- 
istered for all painful operations, and antiseptic 
treatment reduces the risk of gangrenous complications 
to a minimum. Ice can now be supplied at the front, 
even in Natal's inferno. Hospital trains fitted on the 
American sleeping-car principle, carry the patients 
gently down to the base, and hospital ships with 
electric ipunhah wallahs and many a delicacy, take the 
invalid home. 

The healthy reputation of South Africa notwith- 
standing, troops cannot sleep and march and fight 
for days, without shelter and often without food, in 
alternate pouring rain, blistering sun, and chilling 
wind. The strongest constitution will be broken 
down under the strain. Enteric fever, dysentery, 
and typhoid ensue, and, despite all precautions, 
they will outnumber bullets in their deadly claim 
for mess numbers. 

Reinforcements were rapidly landed to augment 
Clery's force. The early and sometimes fatal dis- 
position to mass troops at the base until the brigades 

205 



In South Africa with Buller 

were completed was superseded, and single battalions 
were sent forward as soon as landed. During the 
mobilization the departmental corps were making 
preparations for an advance in force, and the in- 
fantry worked continually, unloading stores, while 
the staff completed the details of the component 
parts of the complex military machine that must 
work smoothly and in order, for effect in war and 
peace. 

Major Elliott, R. E., taking his life in his 
hand, rode out daily to sketch the Boer positions 
beyond the Tugela. The colonial scouts scoured 
the country, and patrolled along the front, while 
Major Chichester, the provost marshal, rounded up 
a few disloyal farmers in the district and sent them 
to Maritzburg for safe keeping. These rebels had 
spied and looted, and sniped at the scouts. Perhaps 
any country but the United States and England 
would have shot them. The Germans summarily 
executed French civilians who operated in any way 
against them ; but these Natal traitors were British 
subjects, and deserved no mercy imder the rules of 
war. I by no means advocate extreme measures, 
but I have seen so much inexcusable treachery 
among the Cape Dutch that, while I admire British 
magnanimity as politic and humane, I wonder that 
some general has not hung a few as a salutary 
warning to flagrant disloyalty. 

On December 6th a service was held over the 
206 



Impressive Funeral Services 

graves of the first heroes to fall in the relief of 
Ladysmith, — the victims of the armored train dis- 
aster. Over two thousand troops attended, with 
General Hildyard, Colonel Cooper, Prince Christian 
Victor, and many other officers. Doctrinal differ- 
ences are forgotten in war, and since Dublins and 
Colonials lay together. Father Mathews, the plucky 
chaplain of the Fusiliers, and Rev. Mr. Twemlow, 
of the Colonials, combined for a simple and touching 
service, a possible tribute to the reunion of Christen- 
dom. As the farewell volleys echoed over the kopjes, 
the bugles softly sounding the " last post," distant 
minute guns boomed at Ladysmith as if conscious 
of the ceremony, and a salvo of heaven's artillery 
reverberated through the mountains, typifying the 
insignificance of man in all his martial power. 

The commander-in-chief arrived at Frere during 
the early hours of the 6th, the eager troops turning 
out in the darkness to give their leader a welcome 
that must have touched his soldier heart. Sir 
Redvers BuUer has earned no feather-bed honors; 
his V. C, G. C. B., and K. C. M. G. have been won 
with the sword in a literal sense, and " Tommy 
Atkins," who is a connoisseur of generals, had and 
has unbounded confidence in him as a leader. On 
the morrow he was to celebrate his sixtieth birthday ; 
twenty years before, he had spent that anniversary 
in South Africa, at no great distance from Frere, 
fighting the Zulus to save the Boers from annihila- 

207 



In South Africa with Buller 

tion. At the head of the Frontier Light-horse, he 
hacked his way through the victorious blacks, at 
the head of his men, and turned the tide of Chelms- 
ford's misfortunes with the savage foe at Ulundi. 
Later he witnessed Boer ingratitude, and silently 
had to see the flag withdrawn from the Transvaal. 

Now he was back in South Africa, sending a force 
to protect the Zulus from Transvaal aggression 
and leading an army to crush the power to which 
he had indirectly contributed in 1880. The army 
knew him as early as the Red River Expedition 
and the subsequent war in West Africa, at an age 
when few officers are known. It hailed him as the 
saviour of Graham's force from Dervish hordes, the 
hero of Tami, where he commanded a truly British 
square of Gordon Highlanders, Royal Irish, and his 
old regiment, the 60th Rifles. In '85 he dashed 
across the desert to take command of Stewart's 
decimated column, extricating the hapless force and 
bringing it to the Nile. 

In the ranks General Buller is respected as a stern 
disciplinarian. Squire Buller, Lord of the Court 
of " Canon Fee " and of the Manor of Crediton, is 
loved by the sturdy Devon farmers, and receives 
a warm welcome when his military duties enable 
him to live at the demesne of Downes. Thus he 
combines the essential qualities for a commanding- 
general, — the strict discipline of the soldier, toned 
with tactful geniality as an administrator. 

208 









J9f 







%i-';.;-:«wri;p-;^^^.. 



f ' 



An appaie op outposts. 
Drawn by John Charlton, from a sketch by W. T. Maud. 



News from Ladystnith 

A few hours after his arrival in camp, General 
BuUer accompanied Lord Dundonald's cavalry bri- 
gade in a reconnaissance along the Tugela. The 
force halted on a ridge within range of Colenso, and 
the staff carefully studied the Boer position, appar- 
ently unnoticed by the enemy. The fords of the 
river were carefully noted, and the party returned 
safely, to formulate the plan of attack. 

On the 10th news was heliographed from Lady- 
smith of two successful sorties made by the garrison 
to destroy the enemy's artillery. The jBrst assault 
took place on the night of the 7th. To preclude 
espionage, orders were only issued after "Lights 
out!" had sounded and the garrison retired. Two 
squadrons each of the Light-horse, Natal Carbineers, 
and Mounted Rifles, and sections of the diminished 
gunners of the 10th Mountain Battery and Royal 
Engineers were selected. Under General Hunter, 
with Major Henderson and twelve guides of the 
Intelligence Department, this force moved out at 
11 P.M. against the Boer lines at Lombard's Kop, 
seven miles distant. They passed between the Boer 
outposts successfully, and reached the foot of Gun 
Hill without discovery. A squadron of the Rifles 
under Rethman covered the left flank, a squadron 
each of the three forces held the right, under Colonel 
Royston, to guard against advance from the main 
laager at Bulwhana. One hundred each Carbineers 
under Major Addison, and Light Horse under Major 
14 209 



In South Africa with Buller 

Edwards then crawled up the position on their hands 
and knees, with General Hunter and the guides. 

" Wie horn daar ? " 

The British halted for a moment, then crawled 
silently on, seizing the sentry as he peered into the 
darkness. He sobbingly begged for his life, and was 
led up with the troops. But his first challenge had 
awakened his sleeping companions and a voice cried, 
"Piet! Where art thou?" 

The cold muzzle of a carbine pressed behind his 
ear secured the silence of the trembling Piet. The 
guard, blaspheming after the religious spirit of the 
Boer, clambered down to find Piet, passing over 
the silent line before they discovered the enemy. 
Greatly bewildered they then raced down the steep 
hillside screaming, "The rooineks! the verdomde 
rooineks ! " arousing their comrades on the hill. The 
British scrambled on breathlessly, and the thoroughly 
alarmed commando turned out to find the enemy 
upon them. They fired rapid volleys, to which the 
colonials replied, and checked the advance for a 
moment. Though the volunteers carried carbines 
only. General Hunter, who was leading them, played 
on the enemy's horror of cold steel by the stentorian 
order, "Fix bayonets! Charge! " The line swept up 
with a cheer, the Boers flying precipitately to avoid 
the supposed "long knives." 

Only Major Henderson and Godson, a guide, had 
been wounded, but the major was the first to locate 

210 



First Part of Enterprise Successful 

the famous "Long Tom," and. the engineers were 
speedily at work. In these days of removable vents, 
"spiking the guns" is but a figment of the cheap 
romancer, and the glories effected by a tenpenny-nail 
belong to a past decade. Lieutenant Turner and two 
assistants, of the Royal Engineers, quickly removed 
the breech-block. " Long Tom " was plugged, and a 
charge of gun cotton placed in and around muzzle 
and breech. A 4. 7 -inch howitzer was simultane- 
ously treated by Captain Faulk. The troops with- 
drew to a safe distance. Turner placed his cigar 
against the fuses, and three explosions announced to 
anxious Ladysmith that the first part of the enter- 
prise was successful. The breech-fitting of the mas- 
sive 40-pounder was torn out, the bore scored, the 
muzzle split, and the gun rendered useless. The 
Sappers completed the wreck with sledge-hammers, 
smashing the sights, recoil buffer, and elevating gear, 
removing the breech-block as a trophy. The howitzer 
was irretrievably ruined. 

The enemy had advanced from Bulwhana, and 
poured in a few volleys, killing two and wounding 
four; but after the explosions they rapidly retired, 
and the victorious force descended the hill and re- 
turned to camp unmolested. As they left the hill- 
top, a trooper fell over a Maxim in the darkness. 
This was quickly secured, and on the following day 
it poured in bullets on its late owners. 

General White, disregarding the moral of the 
211 



In South Africa with Buller 

pitcher and the well, arranged a second sortie two 
nights later to destroy an annoying 4.7-inch howitzer 
on Surprise Hill, only three miles from camp. Colonel 
Metcalf with five hundred men of the Rifle Brigade 
followed Hunter's tactics, and two companies of 
stormers reached the hilltop unobserved. The Boers, 
however, were bivouacked in force close behind the 
gunpit, and though they were surprised and retreated 
hurriedly, they sustained a heavy fire from a further 
position. 

Lieutenant Jones coolly placed charges round the 
howitzer under a spatter of bullets, and lit the fuse. 
It failed to explode, and other commandoes closed 
in, but the Rifles held their ground steadily while 
another charge was prepared and ignited, this time 
successfully demolishing the piece. The hill was now 
completely surrounded by Boers, and the protecting 
flanks were heavily engaged, but the Rifles charged 
with fixed bayonets and went through the enemy 
with a cheer, suffering considerable loss, however. 
An outlying picket, under the son of State Secretary 
Reitz, had taken refuge in the rocks close to the 
valley where the troops were re-forming. They 
inflicted further loss, killing Captain Paton and sev- 
eral men outright, but the British were soon clear, 
and leaving twenty men, without arms, to look after 
the wounded, they returned to camp. The storming 
party, two hundred strong, lost fifty-nine men dur- 
ing the operation. 

212 



Prisoners Sent to Pretoria 

At daybreak the incensed Boers found the de- 
tached party searching for wounded. Despite their 
object, they were made prisoners and sent to Pre- 
toria, the wounded being left where they fell. The 
ambulance despatched from Ladysmith was also 
seized, and the surgeon and bearer company arrested. 
Several Boer officers had been severely disciplined for 
their failure to repel the first sortie, and the burghers 
were in a tearing rage at the second loss of artillery 
through their dilatoriness. Several threatened to 
shoot the wounded in reprisal, and some of the Red 
Cross men were roughly handled, but Schalk Burger, 
who was in command, finally allowed them to depart. 

While the pinch of the siege was only beginning 
to be felt, the garrison welcomed the news that the 
relief column was mobilized and ready to strike. 
Failure was not thought of. 



213 



CHAPTER VIII 

Repulses of Gatacre and Methuen. — The Battle of 
CoLENSO. — Withdrawal of Buller. — Loss of Long's 
Artillery Division. — V. C.'s on the Field. 

Reverses to his central and western columns 
hurried General Buller to make a decisive stroke with 
the Natal Field Force. General Gatacre, known in 
the army as "Backacher " from the feats of endurance 
that he has accomplished with his forces, and with a 
high reputation from the Soudan, marched his column 
against the Boer position at Stormherg, intending to 
surprise the laagers in the darkness and reconquer the 
annexed district of Cape Colony. Such a surprise 
would be possible in the Soudan, but the risks of 
night operations in South Africa are stupendous, not 
tha least of which are caused by the falsity of compass 
bearings among the ferruginous rocks. Sir William 
Gatacre had only two thousand available men in his 
command, but as Boer aggression was terrorizing the 
entire north of the colony, the railway junction was 
in their hands, and disloyalty was spreading to the 
coast itself, heroic measures seemed justified. 

With a reliable guide. Sergeant Morgan of the 
local police, the column moved out from Putter's 

214 



Column Retired on Molteno 

Kraal at 4 a.m. December 9, and by road and rail 
swooped down on Molteno, which was hovering be- 
tween British and rebel control. Rapidly mobilizing 
in the town, the force pressed forward after sunset 
along the left road to Steynsburg, intending to turn 
off at right angles to take the Boer position in flank. 

Unfortunately, the guide, missing the turning, led 
the troops sixteen miles instead of nine. Faulty 
bearings finally placed the force on a further turning 
from the main road, which ran directly parallel to the 
reverse of the Boer position. Day was just break- 
ing, the general was urging on his worn-out men, 
expecting every minute to find the left of the position 
looming up on his direct front, when a sudden and 
furious fire burst at close range along the entire 
length of his column. After a moment of confusion 
the leading companies took a sharp right turn, and 
dashed up the enfilading ridge. But perpendicular 
rock surmounted by loopholed stone walls checked 
their onslaught, and the line was hurled back to the 
road as the British bugles sounded "Retire!" 

Shot at every foot of the way, worn-out by twenty- 
four hours' continuous exertion, the column slowly 
extricated itself, fighting as it retired on Molteno, 
harassed by bullet and shell into the very outskirts 
of the city. When roll was called six hundred men 
out of the small column failed to answer their names 
— killed, wounded, or prisoners. 

Under ordinary conditions the forced assault on 
215 



In South Africa with Buller 

the reverse of the position would have been snccess- 
fnl. But the long, rocky ridge, at the base of which 
ran the road, had been carefully and scientifically 
intrenched on the north side by the colonials, to 
repel invasion during the early days of the war. 
Before troops could be sent up to occupy the junc- 
tion the Boers had swept over the border and seized 
the ridge, intrenching on the south side to stay a 
British advance. They had discovered the column, 
moving down as they supposed to assail their rear, 
and they had hardly taken up a position in the 
British trenches when the troops marched along 
their line in quarter-column. It is little credit to 
the Boers that Gatacre was not overwhelmed. Far 
superior in number, they had the column in a trap 
which simple tactics could have closed. But the 
Boer dislike to open fighting, even when great things 
might be accomplished thereby, enabled the British 
general to execute his masterful retirement with 
three-fourths of his force. 

General French, at Naaupoort Junction, gained 
rapid if small successes and held the railroad intact 
at that point, repeatedly outflanking the Boers with 
his cavalry and horse artillery, more mobile than the 
enemy. 

On the western border Lord Methuen, after fight- 
ing severe but successful actions at Belmont, Graspan, 
and Modder River, hurling the Boers back at each 
step, moved against their main position at Magersf on- 

216 



Bombardment at Magersfontein 

tein on December llth. The Boers had been located 
along a line of steep kopjes, strongly intrenched. 
But the advance, which had appeared clear on the 
previous day to the scouts, who were unable to inspect 
closely through strong Boer outposts, was intersected 
by a long, cunningly concealed trench running along 
the base of the kopjes, and strongly defended by an 
impenetrable tangle of barbed wire.^ 

For two days a terrific bombardment had been sus- 
tained against the Boer position, and the column 
advanced confidently at midnight, expecting to sur- 
prise and overcome a demoralized enemy intrenched 
as of yore along the ridges. The Highland brigade 
was in the van, the men marching in quarter-column 
to sustain touch and direction in the darkness, the 
order being to extend along the base of the positions 
at dawn, after crossing the open without loss, and 
then press the attack. 

By 3.45 A.M. General Wauchope had led his men 
almost to the base of the kopjes, the Boer outposts 
were captured, sleeping quietly, and the men had 
even loaded without discovery. Then a rifle was 
discharged accidentally, there was a hoarse challenge 
from the long trench, awaking the Boers, who sprang 

1 The successful employment of barbed wire in Cuba led the 
Transvaal government to call for tenders early in 1899 for 950 
miles of the fencing. Two weeks later one Pretorian firm placed 
an order with an American company for 1500 tons, and further 
shipments have taken place ; so that an ample supply was on hand 
for purposes of defence. 

217 



In South Africa with Buller 

to their arms and opened wild volleys into the dark- 
ness. 

Individual soldiers fired back, their flashes re- 
vealing the brigade, caught in massed formation but 
one hundred and sixty yards from the rifles. Men 
fell in heaps, but Wauchope rallied and hastily ex- 
tended his regiments, and then ordered a charge. In 
the face of terrific volleys, the Highlanders swept 
into the wire defences, and though officers and men 
strove to break down the obstruction, mesh succeeded 
mesh, and the attacking line melted away before the 
point-blank fire, the supports falling back. Wauchope 
fell riddled with bullets at the head of his men. 

The supports rallied, reinforcements moved up, 
and, checked but undismayed, the British formed on 
the open veldt and lay pouring ineffectual volleys 
at the sheltered enemy from sunrise to sundown, ex- 
posed to a pitiless fire in return. At midday the 
Boer fire slackened, and again the Highlanders sprang 
up and dashed forward with the bayonet. Again the 
barbed wire checked them, the leading lines were 
swept away, and the remnant were driven back in 
dire confusion, their rout being covered magnificently 
.by the guards. For the third time the survivors 
were rallied, the Gordons in the van, and pressed 
forward with short rushes. Backed by the Scots 
Guards the shattered brigade again drew close, 
ordered to hold on until sunset and then charge. 

With the typical disregard either of Free State or 
218 



Attack on the Open Veldt 

foreign allies, Cronje sent the Scandinavian contin- 
gent under Baron Faderscold to attempt a flanking 
movement on the open veldt. The contingent was 
wiped out, the survivors dragging their wounded to 
the British lines, declaring that they would fight for 
the Boers no longer. Cronje's line was wavering 
under the incessant shelling, and the burghers admit 
that the final charge would have succeeded. But 
Albrecht brought several guns into action at the close 
of the day and swept the utterly exhausted companies. 
Flesh and blood could endure no longer. Without 
food or water, under a terrible fire, their arms, legs, 
and backs covered with vesicles from the blazing sun, 
the troops were unable to make further effort, but lay 
where they had fought, far into the night, and then 
crawled back out of range. Reluctantly Methuen 
was forced to withdraw his command to the Modder 
River. 

At Tel-el-Kebir Wolseley pursued similar tactics 
with success, and the world hails him as a hero. 
Methuen failed, and has to face wholesale execration. 
The street tactician blames him for making a frontal 
attack, but overlooks details of transportation which 
held him to the railroad line, a ddtour being impossi- 
ble save with a much stronger force, with abundant 
transport. Weakened by successive battles, his two 
brigades could hope to accomplish nothing save by 
surprise. Had he d^toured, he must have taken all 
his force and left a long line of communications ex- 

219 



In South Africa with Buller 

posed. He could expect no reinforcements, and the 
fault lies rather with those who underestimated the 
enemy and gave him an impossible task. Remem- 
ber what Lawton's entire division suffered at Caney 
from six hundred Spaniards without artillery, and you 
will sympathize with Methuen's two brigades opposed 
to nine thousand steadfast Boers with several guns. 

And those who hold Lord Paul Methuen as a proof 
of the effete aristocracy of the army should first know 
their man. They should see " Saint Paul " Methuen, 
as he is sometimes called, earnestly conducting his 
class of young men in the East End slums. Would 
that all lords were like him. 

There is as little favoritism in the British army as 
in the United States, and trained officers in time of 
war do not find themselves superseded by political 
appointees who have never shouldered a rifle, — a dis- 
tinct hardship during the late ' unpleasantness with 
Spain. The social butterflies who adopt the army for 
a profession have to pass an examination as rigorous 
as in any country in the world. There is much snob- 
bery in certain regiments; Mr. Winston Churchill, 
who has now completely vindicated his manliness, 
sustained a caste in the 4th Hussars, which in- 
curred the contempt of all thinking officers, and 
thinking men, too, if they heard of it. 

But fortunately for the army, a more democratic 
spirit generally prevails, and while it is absolutely 
necessary for a subaltern to have private means to 

220 



No Favoritism in British Army- 
augment his pay,^ Of Ours is all the social status 
needed to win popularity. A manly, well bred man 
can become a power in a regiment where a titled 
" dolt " will be the laughing-stock. The democracy 
of Rugby, Eton, or Harrow is carried through Sand- 
hurst into the army. As a certain prince had to fag 
for young Astor, so the Queen's grandson in the 
Rifles, not long since, was subservient to the son 
of a wholesale draper, who boasted three months' 
seniority. What other army can show the fearless, 
clear-cut, intelligent type of men who officer the 
United States and British armies? 

Carlyle wrote of the " usual manner " of British offi- 
cers, "without knowledge of war or fear of death." 
But he spoke of the days of purchase. British officers 
may have known little of modern warfare, for field 
days make soldiers, but not generals. But for a 
ridiculous inattention to the lessons of the Spanish 
war, belittled by Toral's abject surrender, South Afri- 
can leaders might have made their initial plans differ- 
ently. Their experience was costly, but useful to 

1 The Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University recently invited 
applications for commissions, and pointed out that candidates 
must have sufficient means to support the same. That such condi- 
tions should debar suitable men from appointments in the hour of 
need shows the necessity for drastic change. Few can exist on the 
present pay of subalterns, and a poor man is forced to waste his 
energy in West Africa or on the frontier in native corps, because 
he cannot sustain his position in a line regiment. It is specially 
hard for the sons of officers. Born and reared in the army they 
are soldiers by instinct, but their fathers have seldom the means to 
place them in the service. 

221 



In South Africa with Buller 

the military world. The common assertion, how- 
ever, that leaders are chosen by social preferment, 
more competent officers being superseded through 
favoritism, is directly negatived by the present lead- 
ers. Wolseley, Roberts, Buller, Kitchener, Clery, 
French, and many others have won their rank and 
honors by sheer hard service in the army, which they 
entered as unknown subs. It is unfortunate that 
there are not more Hector Macdonalds, but when 
" Bobs " is commander-in-chief direct promotion from 
the ranks will be easier. To-day field-marshals' 
batons can hardly be said to lie in every private's 
knapsack. 

The mobilization of the Ladysmith relieving column 
was completed by General Clery on December 11th, 
when General Buller reviewed the command, num- 
bering 22,000 fighting men. 

The column comprised: the Cavalry Brigade, the 
Earl of Dundonald, 1st Dragoons, 13th Hussars, 
Bethune's and Thorneycroft's Horse, three squadrons 
of the newly enrolled South African Light horse, 
Walter's composite corps of regular Mounted Infan- 
try, and the detached companies of the Natal Carbineers 
and Imperial Light-horse, 2,700 mounted men. The 
infantry brigades were: the 2d Brigade (English), 
General Hildyard's, the Devon, West York, West and 
East Surrey regiments, 4th Brigade (Light Infantry), 
General Lyttleton, 1st Rifle Brigade, 3d Battalion 

222 



Ladysmith Relieving Column 

60th Rifles, Scottish. Rifles, and the Durham Light 
Infantry, 5th Brigade (Irish), General Hart, Dublin 
and Inniskilling Fusiliers and Connaught Rangers, and 
the Border regiment which replaced the Royal Irish 
detached to General Gatacre, 6th Brigade (Union), 
General Barton, 2d Royal Fusiliers, 2d Royal Scots, 
2d Royal Irish, and 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers. With 
the above force were the 7th, 14th, 63d, 64th and 
66th field batteries R. A., two naval 4.7 guns 
(Lyddite), and six long-range 12-pounders under 
Captain Jones of the "Forte," and six naval 12- 
pounders under Lieutenant Ogilvy. 

Barton's composite brigade made the first advance, 
honors being even for each country represented 
therein. Beside the union of England, Scotland, 
Ireland, and Wales, the territorial system has not 
restricted the regiments in question, and it is safe to 
say that every county of the countries had its quota 
there. On December 12th the brigade escorted six 
naval guns to a kopje east of the railroad, dominating 
at 7,000 yards the intrenched ridges that menaced 
the wagon bridge crossing the Tugela. A heavy 
bombardment of the Boer position was sustained from 
7 A.M to 1 P.M. on the following day, the Lyddite 
shells blowing great gaps in the opposite intrench- 
ments. The enemy made no reply, and current 
rumor had it that they had become demoralized by 
the fire and had withdrawn. 

On the 14th a general advance was ordered ; camp 
223 



In South Africa with Buller 

was struck and moved forward to a position beyond 
Chieveley, preparatory for an attack in force on the 
morrow. The naval guns advanced nearer the river 
and again pounded the enemy's position ; but again 
the masked Boer guns were silent, and mounted 
patrols who ventured close to the river were not fired 
upon. When general orders were read that evening 
for the attack at daybreak, no one expected a severe 
fight, and most decided that the effective fire of the 
naval guns had taught the farmer foe a salutary 
lesson, and the general supposition was that the enemy 
had removed his cannon out of range, and would make 
little opposition. Strangely, the Natalian forces, who 
had lived with the Boers from childhood, were loudest 
in belittling the resolution of the enemy. But a few 
sagely shook their heads and talked of Dutch slim. 

The Tugela (Startling) River rises on the Free State 
side of the Mont aux Sources in the Drakensberg and 
leaps into British territory in a sheer descent of 1,800 
feet, the highest waterfall in the world. The river 
usually flows quietly through the picturesque scenery 
of Natal, but the melting of the snow on the berg, or 
a heavy and perhaps entirely local rain-storm, swells 
it into a turbid flood that sweeps down without warn- 
ing, and woe betide the hapless traveller caught pass- 
ing a drift. Its tributaries are numerous. On the 
north it is fed by the Klip River from Ladysmith and 
the Sunday River from Elandslaagte. Its first trib- 

224 



The Tugela River 

utary, the Little Tugela, flows in on the south bank 
from Springfield; the Blauwkrantz (Blue Cliff) joins 
it from Frere, the Bushman River from Eastcourt, and 
Mooi (good) from Weston. 

Its largest tributary is the Buffalo River, which 
rises near Charleston and forms, first, the eastern 
boundary between Natal and the Transvaal, and in 
crude right angle with the Tugela marks the west 
and south border of Zululand. The Buffalo is joined 
by the historic Ingogo between Majuba and New 
Castle, and its course is marked by points of special 
interest, notably Rorke's Drift, Fort Northampton, 
and Fugitive Drift where the heroic Melville fell, 
the last of his ill-fated corps, with his regiment's 
colors wrapped around him. A monument marks the 
place of his death. 

Like all South African rivers, with the short ex- 
ception of the Umzimkulu, the Tugela is not navi- 
gable, and in the dry season its tributaries are 
miserable spruits. But for this it would prove a mag- 
nificent water way through the richest districts of 
Natal, with branches connecting the important towns 
in the colony. A Brobdingnagian feat of engineer- 
ing can transform this water system with a series of 
locks and embankments ; and if the future promise of 
Natal is fulfilled, a great South African canal may be 
projected along the Tugela and its branches. 

The railroad crosses the river by a massive bridge 
at Colenso, where the Bulwer road runs north ; and 
15 225 



In South Africa with Buller 

a wagon bridge and drift also cross at this point. 
The Boers had taken up a strong position on the 
north side of the crossing, where the advance of relief 
for Ladysmith, following the railroad from the coast, 
must cross the river. Meyer's defeat at Talana led 
to the selection of Louis Botha, his junior assistant 
during the establishment of Vryheid, and a very 
young member of the older Boer party, as direct 
commander under Joubert to oppose the British ad- 
vance. Disappointed at their failure to surprise Mar- 
itzburg, and disheartened by the rapid advance of 
Red Bull (Redvers Buller), whom a few had fought 
under in the Zulu war, but most supposed to be a 
brother of John Bull, the burghers, notably the Free 
Staters, were anxious to fall back to defend their 
own territory. They had been told that 40,000 men 
were the utmost force that England could gather for 
a foreign war. They had shut a fourth of this army 
in Ladysmith ; here was one half coming to its relief, 
and yet each day they heard of 50,000 men marching 
up to relieve Kimberley and invade the republics. 

But the quiet wisdom of their young general soon 
restored their confidence and they loyally assisted 
him in carrying out his plans. With amazing per- 
spicuity this simple strategist, heedless of the advice 
of skilled European officers, argued out the position 
and acted accordingly. The topography of Natal 
must be studied to be appreciated. It is an ideal 
country for defence ; it is the most difficult country 

226 



Boers Destroy Colenso Bridge 

in the world for aggressive campaigning. Sustain- 
ing a strategical offensive with a tactical defensive, 
the Boers had every advantage on their side. But the 
consummate skill evinced by Botha in realizing and 
applying this advantage, with a prescience of British 
movements gained only by a logical deduction of the 
possibilities, probabilities, disabilities, and precedents 
of the force before him, caused him to anticipate and 
meet every manoeuvre to cross the river. 

The Boers destroyed the massive railroad bridge at 
Colenso, but left the road bridge intact, occasionally 
sending patrols over as if they had retained it for 
their own use, and afterwards occupying the houses 
on the right bank to lure on the force. On their side 
of the river, Fort Wylie, evacuated by the British 
early in November, dominated the bridges. It was 
greatly strengthened by earthworks. The drifts or 
fords over the Tugela, marked on the field map, were 
cunningly altered by throwing dams across at night, 
rocks abounding for this purpose. Rows and rows 
of trenches were erected before these drifts, the 
defences being masked by brush and the natural rocks 
of the kopjes. 

From the left or Boer bank of the river successive 
kopjes rise in tiers, extending along the entire front 
and ranging backward toward the north in irregular 
groups to lofty eminences, Grobler's Kloof and Red 
Hill, which formed the centre of the Boer position, 
commanding the entire sloping plain on the line of 

227 



In South Africa with Buller 

advance. On these heights they mounted their big 
guns. The Tugela near Colenso makes a sharp bend 
northward, winding between the line of kopjes and 
hills running east and west. With Fort Wylie to 
hold the approaches to the bridges, Botha threw up 
lines of trenches extending along the entire water 
front, at the base of the kopjes and around the irreg- 
ular sides. The left of his line, stretching across the 
river where it flows north, rested on Mount Hlang- 
wane on the right bank of the Tugela. Learning a 
lesson from Santiago, he planted his position with 
rows of barbed wire entanglements. The river bed 
and the long grass and brush extending up the open 
bank of the Tugela on the British side were plenti- 
fully strewn with barbed wire fences, torn bodily from 
surrounding farms and distributed in layers in the 
shallows and along the ground likely to be traversed 
by troops assailing the drifts. 

The ground leading to Colenso from Chieveley is 
very open and traversed by dongas. The veldt slopes 
gently down to the immediate river bank, which is 
steep and covered with long coarse grass and scrub. 
You will thus see that a force advancing from Chieve- 
ley toward Ladysmith must cross the open in face 
of a terrific rifle and artillery fire from well screened 
positions. Still exposed, the advance across the river 
would be retarded by barbed wire and the artificial 
flood of the drifts, and if a command could live to 
force a passage, row after row of kopjes must be 

228 



Colenso's Impregnable Position 

stormed in succession on the opposite bank ; the direct 
opposition supported by the lieavy guns and reserve 
rijQLemen on the eminences in the rear. 

In these days of modern warfare, the impregnable 
position certainly seems to exist, and with resolution 
a handful of men at Colenso could stay the advance 
of an army corps. Imagine two miles of successive 
positions like San Juan in Cuba, but seven times 
longer, covered with rocks, steeper, and a hundred- 
fold more difficult to assail. Throw in front of them 
a broad, unfordable river, with an open, unprotected 
advance in place of the El Poso woods that covered 
the advance to within 600 yards of the Spanish 
blockhouses. Place in the position a foe a hundred 
times more resolute and thirty times more numerous 
than Toral's advanced forces in Cuba. Advance 
your column, but one brigade larger than Shafter's 
army, across the open, force a passage over the river 
under the belching of 15,000 rifles, tear your way 
through the entanglements on the banks, carry these 
twenty San Juans in succession while the command- 
ing eminences in rear sustain a terrific fire on your 
advancing forces, storm those final heights, capture 
the enemy's guns, and you have won the battle of 
Colenso. 

The wonder is not so much that the British failed, 
but that they accomplished so much without a greater 
loss. Before you attempt to criticise BuUer, study a 
map of Natal and read Bloch. 

229 



In South Africa with Buller 

On the night of December 14th the following gen- 
eral orders were issued : — 

Orders by Lieutenant General Sir F. Clery, K.C.B., 
Commanding South Natal Field Force. 

Chievelet, Dec. 14, 1899 (10 p. m.). 

1. The enemy is intreBched in the kopjes north of 
Colenso Bridge. One large camp is reported to be near 
the Ladysmith road, about five miles northwest of Co- 
lenso. Another large camp is reported in the hills which 
lie north of the Tugela in a northerly direction from 
Hlangwane Hill. 

2. It is the intention of the General Officer Command- 
ing to force the passage of the Tugela to-morrow. 

3. The 5th Brigade will move from its present camp- 
ing-ground at 4.30 a. m. and march towards the Bridle 
Drift, immediately west of the junction of Dornkop Spruit 
and the Tugela. The Brigade will cross at this point, 
and after crossing move along the left bank of the river 
towards the kopjes north of the iron bridge. 

4. The 2d Brigade will move from its present camp- 
ing-ground at 4 A.M. and passing south of the present 
camping-ground of No. 1 and No, 2 Divisional troops, will 
march in the direction of the iron bridge at Colenso. The 
Brigade will cross at this point and gain possession of 
the kopjes north of the iron bridge. 

5. The 4th Brigade will advance at 4.30 a.m. to a point 
between Bridle Drift and the railway, so that it can sup- 
port either the 5th or the 2d Brigade. 

6. The 6th Brigade (less a half-battalion escort to bag- 

230 



General Orders 

gage) will move at 4 A. m. east of the railway in the direc- 
tion of Hlangwane Hill to a position where he can project 
the right flank of the 2d Brigade, and, if necessary, sup- 
port it or the mounted troops referred to later as moving 
towards Hlangwane Hill. 

7. The officer commanding mounted brigade will move 
at 4 A. M., with a force of 1,000 men and one battery of 
1^0. 1 Brigade Division, in the dii'ection of Hlangwane 
Hill; he will cover the right flank of the general move- 
ment, and will endeavour to take up a position on Hlang- 
wane Hill, whence he will enfilade the kopjes north of the 
iron bridge. 

The officer commanding mounted troops will also de- 
tail two forces of 300 and 500 men to cover the right and 
left flanks respectively and protect the baggage. 

8. The 2d Brigade Division, Royal Field Artillery, 
will move at 4.30 A. m., following the 4th Brigade, and 
will take up a position whence it can enfilade the kopjes 
north of the iron bridge. This Brigade Division will act 
on any orders it receives from Major-General Hart. 

The six naval guns (two 4.7-inch and four 12-pounder) 
now in position north of the 4th Brigade, will advance 
on the right of the 2d Brigade Division, Royal Field 
Artillery. 

No. 1 Brigade Division, Royal Field Artillery (less one 
battery detached with mounted Brigade) will move at 
3.30 A. M. east of the railway and proceed under cover of 
the 6th Brigade to a point from which it can prepare the 
crossing for the 2d Brigade. 

The six naval guns now encamped with No. 2 Divi- 
231 



In South Africa with Buller 

sional Troops will accompany and act with this Brigade 
Division. 

9. As soon as the troops mentioned in preceding para- 
graphs have moved to their positions, the remaining units 
and the haggage will he parked in deep formation, facing 
north, in five separate lines, in rear of to-day's artillery 
position, the right of each line resting on the railway, but 
leaving a space of 100 yards between the railway and the 
right flank of the line. 

In 1st line (counting from the right) : — - 

Ammunition Column No. 1 Divisional Troops; 6th 
Brigade Field Hospital; 4th Brigade Field Hospital; 
Pontoon Troop, Eoyal Engineers; 5th Brigade Field 
Hospital ; 2d Brigade Field Hospital; Ammunition 
Column, No. 2 Divisional Troops. 

In 2d line (counting from the right) : — 

Baggage of the 6th Brigade ; Baggage of the 4th Bri- 
gade; Baggage of the 2d Brigade. 

In 3d line (counting from the right) : — 

Baggage of Mounted Brigade; Baggage of No. 1 Divi- 
sional Troops; Baggage of No. 2 Divisional Troops. 

In 4th and 5th lines (counting from the right) : — 

Supply Columns in the same order as the baggage 
Columns in second and third lines. 
Lieutenant-Colonel I. Beeves, Boyal Irish Fusiliers, 

will command the whole of the above details. 

10. The position of the General Officer Commanding 
will be near the 4.7-inch guns. 

The Commanding Boyal Engineer will send two sec- 
tions 17th Company Royal Engineers with the 5th Bri- 

232 



Force Moved Forward 

gade, and one section and headquarters with the 2d 
Brigade. 

11. Each infantry soldier will carry 150 rounds on his 
person, the ammunition now carried in the ox-wagons of 
regimental transports being distributed. Infantry great- 
coats will be carried in two ox-wagons of regimental trans- 
port, if brigadiers so wish ; other stores will not be placed 
in these wagons. 

12. The General Officer commanding 6th Brigade will 
detail a half-battalion as baggage guard. The two naval 
guns now in position immediately south of divisional 
headquarter camp will move at 5 A. M. to the position now 
occupied by the 4.7-in. guns. — By order 

B. Hamilton, Colonel^ 

Assistant Adjutant-General 
South Natal Field Force. 

At 3 A.M. on Friday, Deceml)er 15th, the British 
camp was struck and the entire force moved forward. 
With some diiSculty the two 4.7 naval guns were 
dragged by oxen to a low spur west of the rail- 
road, where with four long-range 12-pounders they 
came into action under Captain Jones of the " Forte, " 
opening steadily with the early dawn at 4.45, making 
Fort Wylie their objective. After thirty minutes' 
desultory shelling, which failed to draw the enemy's 
guns, that they might be located and silenced, a 
furious bombardment was opened on the kopjes pre- 
paratory for the attack. 

Outposts and scouts advanced toward the river, but 
233 



In South Africa with Buller 

not a shot was fired. A few burghers galloped madly 
across the bridge and away as Hildyard's brigade 
moved forward in open order beside the railroad. 
Skirmishers fired at the houses on the south side of 
the water, which had been occupied by the enemy on 
the previous day, but not a rifle replied, and there 
was not a sign of life on either side of the Tugela, 
save on the far kopjes at the north centre of the posi- 
tion, where a group of mounted burghers were appar- 
ently riding away for dear life. 

"Afraid of our naval guns! They have moved 
their own heavy pieces out of action ! " was the 
general comment. The troops stepped forward with 
an eagerness of action after long restraint, and the 
proud smile of victory assured. No one supposed 
that the farmer foe would be mad enough to place 
their advance across the river which would cut off 
their retreat, to face advancing columns that must 
hurl them back into the water. Perhaps such tactics 
were the result of Boer over-confidence, but over- 
confidence, if it invites disaster, sometimes achieves 
victory. 

Down toward the Tugela moved the brigades, look- 
ing only at the positions across the water. On the 
right centre bombardiers rode right to the river bank 
crossing empty Boer trenches that led from a clump 
of woods. With Captain White-Thomson they found 
the range in the open without molestation, and re- 
ported the ground clear of the enemy. Colonel Long, 

234 



"Halt! Action Front!" 

leaving the slower oxen to bring forward the naval 
12-pounders, then led the two field batteries of his 
division at a smart trot far ahead of the infantry to 
within 800 yards of the river to sweep the kopjes on 
the far side. Sectional commanders gave the objec- 
tive, Fort WyKe, the range 1,200 yards, and the guns 
swept down in line at 6.20 a.m. with neither sight 
nor sound of the enemy. 

"Halt! Action front!" 

The drivers lifted their whips as they drew up 
their sweating horses, the limber gunners were twist- 
ing in their seats, prepared to dismount — Bang! 
went a signal gun beyond the river. Then burst 
a sound like the anchor chain rattling through the 
hawse hole, a crash of thunder and a ripping, tear- 
ing, whistling and detonation as if all the fiends in 
hell were loosed. 

Maxims and automatic 1-pounders had opened from 
the kopjes by the river, every gun on the hills behind 
had spoken. And from every ridge and the fort 
beyond the Tugela, and worse yet, from the trenches 
on the south bank of the river, which had been quickly 
reoccupied by the Ermelo commando under cover of 
the thicket, a terrific rifle fixe burst in the face of the 
British. 

The two batteries bore the brunt in the centre. 
Without direct support, they were suddenly assailed 
with a hail of bullets poured in at point-blank range, 
the terrible phut-phut gun across the river searched 

235 



In South Africa with Buller 

them out with its cruel little shells, and ere the guns 
were unlimbered half the teams were down, gunners 
and drivers were writhing on the ground, and it was 
impossible to retire from the trap. The discipline of 
the artillery responded to the test. The wagons 
were somewhat sheltered in a donga, but the detach- 
ment high numbers, rushing forward, cut loose the 
tangled teams, dragged the limbers behind the guns, 
"changed rounds" to replace casualties, and served 
ammunition as if on a field day, the gunners working 
the guns steadily until Fort Wylie and the surround- 
ing kopjes erupted with bursting shrapnel. 

The Creusots on Grobler's had the exact range, 
however, and their 40-pound missives of steel and 
balls ploughed their way through the devoted batter- 
ies. One shell wiped a subdivision practically out of 
existence, but the survivors, finding their gun use- 
less, ran to augment the detachments on either side 
of them. 

Colonel Long fell dangerously wounded fifteen 
minutes after the fight opened, and was carried to a 
donga in rear, shot through the stomach, arm, and 
back. Delirious from the sun and loss of blood, he 
continually muttered, " My brave gunners ! my brave 
gunners ! " The two battery captains, Goldie and 
Schrieber, were shot dead. Colonel Hunt fell next. 
Then Lieutenants Gethin and Elton were wounded, 
but they clung to their guns until a second bullet 
brought down Elton, and Gethin fainted from loss of 

236 



Gunners in Face of Certain Death 

blood. Lieutenant Gryles was shot tiying to aid 
Schrieber; the subdivision sergeants had suffered as 
severely, but the surviving subalterns, Holford, with 
his face gashed by a splinter, and Birch, distributed 
the depleted detachment through the batteries and 
slaved at the guns with their men to the last. Splen- 
did fellows were these stalwart British gunners who 
grimly stood by their guns in the face of certain death. 
Hellas could not have produced greater heroes ; Leon- 
idas would have been proud of such. 

"You must abandon the battery," shouted a ser- 
geant as he sank wounded and the fire increased. 
But the idea was scouted. No. 3 of one gun was 
shot as he fixed the lanyard, but attempted to fire 
as he lay on the ground. The downward jerk lifted 
the friction tube and it snapped harmlessly above the 
vent, but supporting himself by the wheel, he man- 
aged to insert another tube and fired his gun before 
another arrived to take his place. At No. 5 gun, 
14th Battery, Nos. 2 and 4 alone were left, but they 
ran up, laid and fired their piece, alternately fetch- 
ing ammunition from the limber. One fell, and the 
solitary No. 4 served that gun until the limber con- 
tained case shot alone. Pressing home double charges 
he flung out the tins of balls at an extreme canister 
range, searching the enemy skulking along the near 
bank ; then a bullet marked him, and he sank across 
the trail of the now silent gun. Wright and Hinton 
worked two guns alone until they could get no more 

237 



In South Africa with Buller 

shell; other subdivisions reduced to three or four 
men also fired on until their last charge was ex- 
pended ; then the remnant crept into a rut to await a 
fresh supply. The adjutant Thomson crawled out 
for a blanket for Colonel Long, and was shot down as 
he returned. 

Meanwhile Hart's brigade had advanced in quarter- 
column to force Bridle Drift on the left. Dornkop 
Spruit, which joins the Tugela at an acute angle, 
lay in front of part of the brigade. These companies 
were preparing to cross to deploy beyond; the lead- 
ing battalions had advanced in close formation into a 
salient loop of the river, when the firing burst forth. 
The van-guard received a terrific cross-fire from the 
bend, besides the frontal fire from the kopjes, and a 
share of the gunnery from Grobler's Kloof. Mad- 
dened by the surprise and consequent loss, the impet- 
uosity of the gallant Irish was restrained with diffi- 
culty, while the companies deployed in open order. 
At every point rose piles of white stones by which 
the Boers had previously marked out exact ranges, 
and their fire with gun and rifle was absolutely accu- 
rate ; but the troops swept forward with a yell of rage 
and defiance, rolling back an advance guard of the 
enemy intrenched in a donga, and forcing them into 
the river, where several were shot or drowned, though 
many escaped along the wooded bank. 

On, through the wire entanglements, surged the 
lines of Dublins, Inniskilhngs, and Rangers, closely 

238 



Irishmen Reached River Bank 

supported by tlie Borderers. The leading lines of 
skirmishers were swept away as the Boers, on flank 
and front, strove to hurl back the assault ; but deliv- 
ering steady volleys, advancing in short rushes, tak- 
ing advantage of every bit of cover, the devoted 
Irishmen finally reached the river bank. Two of 
Lyttleton's battalions now moved down to support, 
closely followed by the 63d and 64th Batteries, which 
were splendidly handled by Colonel Parsons, but nar- 
rowly escaped envelopment and were forced to with- 
draw further back. 

Many, wounded in the earlier advance, struggled 
to their feet and came into the firing line, but nothing 
could be seen of the intrenched enemy save the pale 
smoke rising from the Mausers, blending with the 
sun haze on the kopjes circling the river bend. 
Pretorius, with his Boer and Irish gunners, turned 
on "Long Tom" from Grobler's, and the first shell 
ploughed into the Inniskillings, leaving a furrow of 
mangled flesh and agony; a second sought out the 
Rangers. 

" No use being torn up like field dummies," shouted 
a Dublin officer, as he scrambled down the bank and 
felt his way into the drift. He fell, but a few men 
were following. Then a little bugler of the Dublins 
named Dunn, who had been ordered to the rear but 
had trudged on with his company, ran in the lead, 
sounding the advance. Several companies immedi- 
ately fixed bayonets and dashed down to the water. 

239 



In South Africa with Buller 

They were met with a heavy fire, but the shrill notes 
of the boy rang above the volleys, until a shrapnel 
burst over him, mangling the brave young body 
which was swept down stream. 

With a shout of rage the baffled soldiers plunged 
into the river and dragged ^ him to land. Then they 
swept through the merciless hail into the drift and 
started across to rout out the hidden foe. But they 
stepped into ten feet of water, where had been a ford 
of three. Weighted down with ammunition and 
equipment, many sank, were caught in the barbed 
meshes and rose no more; others, struggling vainly 
for a footing, were swept into mid stream, and 
drowned where the water surged over the artful dam. 

But holding their rifles over their heads, swimming 
as they might, some soldiers struggled on. The water 
sizzled with bullets, which dxopped around them ; one 
after another sank with wounds or exhaustion, and a 
mere handful reached land. At the glint of steel the 
Boers along the bank scurried away to the kopjes 
like rabbits, pursued by British volleys from the other 
side; but the little party gazed round in bewilder- 
ment, the target from a thousand hidden rifles above 
and around them — ^then, finding they were unsup- 
ported and that nothing could live to face such a fire, 
they turned sullenly to the water again and struggled 
back, a meagre few surviving to rejoin their comrades 

1 Dunn survived his injuries, and has since been decorated by 
the Queen. 

240 



Attempt to Cross the Bridge 

on the south bank, who were sustaining steady vol- 
leys. Here the regiments lay along a vast cabbage 
field, without a vestige of cover, stormed at and 
hailed at, but grimly waiting for the order to retire. 

The advance of Hildyard's brigade in the centre, 
prepared by the silenced batteries, was covered only 
by the naval battery of Long's division under Lieu- 
tenant Ogilvy of the "Tartar," who had brought his 
guns into action, 400 yards behind the field batteries, 
and escaped much of the fire that had mowed down 
the gunners. Ogilvy concentrated a terrific fire on 
the trenches surrounding Fort Wylie, which the 
4.7-inch guns in rear were doing their best to demol- 
ish. The Boer volleys did not perceptibly decrease, 
however, though the Queen's and the Devons forced 
their way down toward the river, the former occupy- 
ing Colenso station. The Wylie kopje was then in 
part subdued. A number of skirmishers pressed on 
to the water and attempted to' cross by the bridge and 
main drifts, but these were immediately swept away. 

The commander-in-chief, with General Clery, who 
was in immediate command, had followed the ad- 
vance closely. Realizing the impossibility of forcing 
the crossing without direct artillery support, he 
diverted a portion of the brigade to attempt to cover 
the withdrawal of the silenced batteries. Colonel 
Bullock with two companies of Devons managed 
to reach the guns, and two companies of the Scots 
Fusiliers crawled along to a donga near by ; but this 
16 241 



In South Africa with Duller 

infantry advance revived the diminished fire from 
the environs of the fort, and a general movement 
toward the guns had to be abandoned. BuUer and 
Clery had ridden along the line to try to avert disas- 
ter, fearlessly exposing themselves. Both were 
slightly wounded, — Buller by a shrapnel ball, Clery 
grazed by a bullet, — and several officers of their staff 
were killed around them. They now called for vol- 
unteers to try to extricate the guns. 

The ammunition wagons were sheltered in a water 
course, 700 yards behind the batteries. By great 
exertion, Captain Schofield, R. A., Captain Con- 
greve, the press censor, and Lord Roberts' son, 
Lieutenant Roberts, all of the general staff, assisted 
by Nurse, Taylor, Young, Petts, Rockall, Lucas, and 
Williams of the 66th Battery, took out two wagon 
teams to bring in the guns. Before they were half 
way across, a shell blew Roberts' horse to pieces, and 
he fell badly mangled ; Congreve was shot down 100 
yards from the batteries, his horse was killed beside 
him, and he was twice wounded, ere he could crawl 
to cover. But the others limbered up two guns, and 
though they lost one entire team and several men 
fell, the animals were redistributed, the dead horses 
cut loose, and the two guns finally dragged to cover. 

The dead and wounded, however, had to be left, 
many being killed as they lay on the field. Congreve 
managed to drag himself into the donga in which 
Long and the surviving gunners were lying. At 

242 




^.- .■ -C-^^ 

^^^'M ■— 

^'^^'^^^^^* 



^s 



ii 






.^' 



1 



Attempt to Aid the Wounded 

this juncture Surgeon-major Babtie, waving a white 
handkerchief, galloped out to attend the wounded. 
The Boers fired heavily at him, however, his horse 
receiving three bullets ere it fell, he being slightly 
wounded as he dashed for the donga on foot. He 
dressed the wounds of the party, and turned to find 
that Congreve had crawled out to aid Roberts the 
moment his wounds were dressed. Seeing the former, 
faint from loss of blood, trying to bring in the lieu- 
tenant, he dashed out to the guns to aid him, and 
together they carried in the mangled body of " Bobs 
Junior," the bullets swishing up the dust around 
them until they reached shelter. 

An ambulance that started out to try to bring in the 
wounded from the donga was driven back by a heavy 
fire, and after that attempt failed, the limbers again 
tried to go out to the guns, but horses and men fell 
so rapidly that the second attempt was abandoned. 
At this juncture Captain Reed of the 7th Battery, 
operating on the right, heard of the difficulty and 
called for volunteers from his battery to make a 
final attempt. Thirteen responded: Money, Reeve, 
Clarke, Musgrave, Robertson, Woodward, Wright, 
Ayles, Hawkins, Lennox, Nugent, Warden, and 
Felton.i They took out three teams and limbers. 

^ Major Babtie, Captains Congreve and Reed, Lieutenant Rob- 
erts and Nurse were awarded the Victoria Cross. Roberts only 
survived his wounds a few hours, but his name will long live on the 
roll of honor, a worthy son of his father. His Cross was given to 
Lady Roberts by the Queen, after this true soldier-wife had said 

243 



In South Africa with Duller 

Of the 21 horses, 14 were killed ere the party had 
covered half the distance from the donga, and though 
with the residue of his men Reed extricated three 
horses, the firing grew so heavy that he was forced 
to retire, carrying in most of his wounded, but leav- 
ing the dead on the field. Until night he did not 
report his own wound, a bullet in the hip. 

Ogilvy's naval guns at this time had lost half their 
oxen and were also in danger. The sailors offered to 
hold their ground, however, and keep the enemy from 
the abandoned guns before them until dark, when all 
could be withdrawn. But BuUer, anticipating the 
risk of envelopment from the flank, and unable to 
bring up infantry to support, would not further 
endanger this more important battery. It was retired 
with great difficulty and loss ; the native drivers re- 
fused to approach, and the depleted teams of oxen 
driven by sailor-gunners responded obstinately to 
their strange masters under a heavy fire. An im- 
provised ammunition-wagon was abandoned, but this 
was finally saved by a Natal farmer named Pringle, 

farewell to the General and was left to face her sorrow and sus- 
pense alone. The nineteen volunteers who had assisted were 
awarded the medal for Distinguished Service in the Field, an honor 
second only to the coveted V. C. Captain Schofield, whose gal- 
lantry was equal to any of the above, was not recommended for a 
V. C, and was forced to be content with special mention in de- 
spatches. The points of discrimination in bestowing the Cross are 
necessarily fine. The gallant Schofield did not receive the decora- 
tion because it was in line of his duty to rescue the guns, and 
the other ofllcers had followed their own initiative, — a hardly fair 
distinction. 

244 



Enemy Pressed their Advantage 

who inspanned a team of oxen and brought it in, 
though the mark of a thousand rifles. 

On the extreme right, Lord Dundonald, dismount- 
ing his irregulars and mounted infantry, had assailed 
Hlangwane Hill. The South African Light Horse 
received their baptism of fire on the left. Walter's 
composite corps advanced in the centre while Thorney- 
croft's Horse attempted to turn the extreme Boer left. 
But the mobile foe adroitly turned the British flank, 
and Thorneycroft was forced to withdraw down a 
narrow valley with heavy loss. 

The enemy pressed their advantage, closing in 
force on the right of the British line. With a single 
section of the 7th Battery and his practically raw 
Colonials, Dundonald fought stubbornly, and a por- 
tion of his force clung tenaciously to the side of 
Hlangwane, while a message was sent to the centre 
for reinforcements. Half of Barton's brigade might 
have been detached with ease and the position taken. 
From Hlangwane Hill the entire Boer line could have 
been enfiladed, and its capture would have turned a 
reverse to an advantage, though nothing could have 
achieved instant victory. But the infantry could not 
be detached without direct orders from headquarters ; 
the galloper was killed looking up Buller, and no help 
was sent. The risk of individual initiative in a 
planned battle is great, but a regimental or brigade 
commander who had acted on his own authority and 
sent a battalion or two of the supports to aid Dun- 

245 



In South Africa with Buller 

donald might have had the kudos of success on a day 
of universal disaster. 

Along the whole British line, the checked regi- 
ments held their ground. The midsummer sun blazed 
down furiously on the unprotected men, for the 
December heat on the parched veldt runs the Soudan 
a close second. But continued exposure was futile, 
and after eight hours' heavy fighting a general retire- 
ment was ordered. 

The brigades of Hart and Lyttleton were being 
searched out in their scanty shelter by light Boer 
guns, which had been moved back under cover of the 
kopjes and circled round to take a position on the 
military crest of a ridge nearer the river. But even 
at this range these guns could not be located, and 
inflicted severe loss. When the "Retire" sounded, 
there was no panic. Hildyard's and Barton's brigades 
fell back very steadily, pursued by a heavy rifle-fire 
and an effective shelling from the quick-firers. Hart's 
suffered still more terribly as they fell back across the 
open, Lyttleton 's Rifle regiments receiving their 
share of punishment as they covered the movements. 

At 1.30 P.M. the worn troops were out of rifle 
range, and plodded their way into camp, pursued by 
heavy but fortunately inferior shelling from the hills. 
The Boers then crossed the bridge, reoccupying their 
position along the south bank, which had taught a 
costly lesson that day. Dundonald was hardly 
pressed, and it was two hours after he received 

246 



Boers Crossed toward Guns 

the order to retire, before he could disengage his 
force. 

Through the fatal wound of an orderly, Colonel 
Bullock with the twenty survivors of the artillery 
escort was not notified of the general retirement, 
and remained in the donga with the wounded. The 
Boers hurriedly crossed toward the guns and were 
greeted by a scattering volley from this plucky 
handful. Lieutenants Birch and Holford of the 
artillery volunteered to rush out and fire case shot 
at the burghers, but this would have courted death 
and could not save the guns, so it was forbidden. 
The surviving gunners unfortunately had left their 
carbines with the limbers, and the slightly wounded 
artillery men were unable to assist in the defence. 
But Boer tactics were now reversed, and though 
commando after commando crossed to seize the guns, 
the twenty sheltered British kept them at bay until 
sunset, when an enfilade fire was poured in among 
them, and Bullock arranged an armistice, pointing 
out that the donga was a dressing station, and it 
was only fair that the surgeon with the wounded 
officers and men should be removed to a place of 
safety, when he and his heroes would fight on to 
the end. 

During the parley a number of Boers crept close in 
and swarmed into the donga. " Surrender, you brave 
fool! " shouted one in English. The colonel emptied 
his revolver at the crowd that rushed at him, and 

247 



In South Africa with Buller 

then went down under a terrific blow with a clubbed 
rifle. The party were at once made prisoners by the 
Johannes burghers; a British ambulance was hailed, 
and filled with the wounded, but the remainder were 
sent to Pretoria. Though wounded, despite Article 
2 of the Geneva Convention to which the Transvaal 
so proudly subscribed, the Boers refused to release 
Colonel Hunt, because he had commanded the guns ; 
and in face of his agony and protests, he* was taken 
from the stretcher and packed off with the rest. 

The withdrawal completed, the burghers swarmed 
oyer the bridge or swam the river at all points, and 
commenced to strip the wounded and dead. The 
veldt was strewn with helpless forms, and near 
Bridle Drift the dead lay in heaps. Their need of 
clothes and outfits may excuse the Boers, but brutes 
alone would strip wounded men and leave them naked 
under a blistering sun. Ghouls also hacked fingers 
off to secure rings, and some mocked and maltreated 
the stricken men. The Roman Catholic chaplain of 
the Irish, who remained on the field, reported that 
one Boer deliberately smashed in the face of a 
wounded private of the Rangers with his heel, shout- 
ing that he would end all d — n rooinehs. A veldt 
cornet, bettered in appearance by an Arkansas hobo, 
kicked a dying soldier who struggled to retain his 
boots. 

Yet there was another side, for a fair-haired Boer 
248 



Boer Humanity 

laddie swam the river and moved naked over the hot 
veldt, giving water to the wounded. And indeed 
there are so many cases of Boer humanity on the 
field, that the frequent instances of their ferocity are 
offset. 

In the war of 1881 the burghers behaved with 
utmost brutality in every instance, and I fear one 
can give little credit to the Transvaal burghers. But 
the present army has had a leavening of intelligent 
Free Staters and aliens, and the younger generation 
of Boers have learned good as well as bad from their 
contact with the despised Uitlanders. An army must 
be judged as a whole and officially. There has been 
too much disposition to quote individual acts against 
the republics, but they have treated prisoners hu- 
manely ^ and have shown every disposition to carry 
on the war in a civilized manner. Courage, mag- 
nanimity, and self-abnegation are attributes of the sol- 
dier fostered by war. Yet some men will be turned 
to savages by the thought of carnage. They become 

1 Back-country commandants like Snyman, who held Lady 
Sarah Wilson close prisoner and finally exchanged her for the 
convict Viljoen, the man who deliberately shelled the Mafeking 
women's laager, thinking their condition would induce the men to 
surrender, and cut native women to the bone with rawhides for 
attempting to leave the city, are brutes beyond the pale of civiliza- 
tion. The black-list of Transvaalers would not be a short one — 
and the brave Cronje is in the category — but their deeds are over- 
shadowed by the actions of more intelligent leaders. Joubert, 
Botha, Meyer, Prinsloo, Coster, and others were f oemen worthy of 
the best steel. If we do not believe their cause just, let us at 
least credit them with fighting, and fighting bravely, for what they 
deemed right, 

249 



In South Africa with BuUer 

hardened, brutalized; for homicidal appetite is cre- 
ated, and seeks unnecessary gratification. 

The looting was stayed by the approach of the 
ambulances, which were greeted by two field guns and 
several volleys fired at close range. The bearer com- 
panies were recruited from the Uitlanders, and several 
Americans were enrolled therein. They advanced 
steadily with a large Red Cross flag at their head, 
and the emblem itself was torn by bullets. In vain 
the surgeons galloped to the Boer lines waving their 
handkerchiefs and pointing to the flag. Eighteen of 
the ambulance men were killed or wounded ere a 
Boer officer, more humane than his fellows, rode 
down the line and checked the firing. It is said that 
the burghers knew this role of the hated Uitlanders, 
and shot them down determinedly. Many indi- 
vidual shots were fired afterwards and one surgeon 
was killed. This shooting was deliberative and 
inexcusable. 

Major Barton of the Rangers had been cut off with 
several men, whom he disarmed and detached to aid 
the wounded when the ambulances arrived. Collect- 
ing their water-bottles, he went to fill them at the 
river to revive the stricken men on the veldt. He 
was surrounded, and an Austrian officer in charge of 
the party, seeing he was a combatant officer, saved 
him from the charge of being a spy, and to satisfy 
the burghers placed him on parole ere he was re- 
leased. In striking conscientiousness, he reported 

250 



Wounded Sent to Hospitals 

this at headquarters, and General BuUer relieved him 
from duty and sent him down country so that he 
should not break his word. This trivial incident is a 
significant tribute to the code of honor of the British 
officer. 

By sunset over 800 wounded had been collected on 
the field, passed through the Field Hospital, and 
been sent by train to the permanent hospitals at East- 
court, Maritzburg, and Durban. Sir William Mac- 
Cormac and the celebrated surgeon, Mr. Treves, 
superintended the treatment and transportation. 

During the evening an informal truce was arranged 
to bury the dead. The naval guns in rear had been 
trained to cover the abandoned batteries, and volun- 
teers were ready to extricate them at night. Opera- 
tions were suspended by the truce, however, under 
cover of which BuUer could have brought in his guns. 
He forbade the attempt as a violation of the armis- 
tice; but the Boers, having no such scruples, and 
covered by the truce, hooked up teams and took the 
pieces over the river. The guns were fairly theirs, 
however. 



251 



CHAPTER IX 

Re-echoes of Colenso. — The Question of Artillery. — 
Lyddite. — Effect of Reverse in England. — Lord 
Roberts. — Christmas at the Front. — Effect of 
Victory on the Boers. — The Assault of Lady- 
smith. — A Brave Defence and a Brave Attack. — 
Treachery. — Boer Positions on the Tugela. — Diffi- 
culties of South Africa. 

" Was there no way round ? " ejaculated the United 
States military attach^, as he was shown the posi- 
tions at Colenso after the reverse. And civilian 
tacticians of two continents have taken up the cry, 
with bitter criticism of General Buller. But with 
Ladysmith the centre of a circle of very difficult 
positions, intrenched at all assailable points by an 
enemy in uninterrupted occupancy for forty days and 
nights, the radius marked by main road and rail had 
advantages that overruled the consideration of radii 
that might have been drawn from weaker points of 
the circumference. Wide detours could have been 
made and a passage forced through at some more 
assailable spot, but to relieve Ladysmith, communi- 
cation had to be reopened with the South. Ammuni- 
tion and supplies cannot be taken over continuous 
kopjes with a mobile foe on either flank, and for the 

252 



Plan to Effect a Lodgment 

relief of the city, possession of the railroad or an 
accessible route to the coast was essential. 

Granted, however, that Colenso was the point to 
attack, the method of its delivery is open to criticism. 
"It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be 
taken by surprise." The attack was planned accord- 
ing to text-book, but the task was impossible, and 
the fault lies not so much with General BuUer as 
with individual leaders, who were completely tricked 
by the Boer silence until the whole battle opened and 
was decided by a virtual ambuscade. The commander- 
in-chief knew the Boer better than his generals, and 
did not expect to sweep all resistance directly before 
him. His plan was to effect a lodgment beyond the 
Tugela at the foot of Fort Wylie, and by Hart's 
flank attack, seize the row of kopjes along the direct 
front. The successive ridges held by the Boers 
would then mask each other, and from these intrenched 
kopjes he hoped to shell out and take the succeeding 
positions ridge by ridge. The plan of operations was 
skilful, and deserved to succeed. 

Had Hart been able to force the ford on the left, 
and had the frontal attack been supported by artil- 
lery, the river might have been crossed. But the 
wisdom of the Napoleonic maxim, "Never do what 
your enemy wishes, for the reason that he wishes," 
was unfortunately exemplified. The Irish brigade 
advanced in quarter-column just where the enemy 
desired, and attempted to cross the drift that they had 

253 



In South Africa with Buller 

flooded. On the right they lured Long's field guns 
into the trap that they had prepared. The Intelli- 
gence Department should have discovered all this, you 
will say. But scouts cannot walk up to the enemy's 
guns, and little that ordinary scouting could accom- 
plish was left undone. While the Boers completely 
misled the British as to their disposition and re- 
source, they did not attempt to give the impression 
that they had entirely evacuated the position. They 
sustained patrols and outposts that kept scouts well 
on the south bank of the Tugela, but their trenches 
were accurately located, though nothing more was 
known. 

A cunning secret service is adverse to the British 
idea. Many a foreign mercenary or Dutch farmer 
could have been bought or spies enlisted. But 
while Transvaal gold has been spent like water on 
Machiavellic service, ranging from the efforts of Leyds 
to create international complications by sending bo- 
gus British recruiting agents to foreign capitals, and 
disseminating stories that led to unnecessary seizures 
of mail vessels for carrying contraband, to the cor- 
ruption of Johannesburg barmaids, as suggested by 
Mrs. Kruger, and the enlistment of colonial traitors 
in the volunteers to poison army horses and send 
out reports through disloyal farmers, British secret 
service has been practically nil. But the bloody 
lessons were not lost, and only by costly experience 
can tactics be evolved to suit modern warfare. A 

254 



Praise for "Army of Herders" 

frank recognition of mistakes should not impair con- 
fidence in the army or its leaders, and a close study 
of past errors is of greater importance than a review 
of previous successes. 

And now for a word of praise for the "army of 
herders " and their leaders. For three days they had 
rested in their bombproofs, resisting the invitation to 
duel with the naval gunners, who so thoroughly 
shelled the position without reply. They had marked 
every range with white stone heaps ; to the efforts of 
skirmishers to force them to unmask their position 
they vouchsafed no reply, and challenges that trained 
armies would rapidly have answered were disdained. 
The artillerymen taking the range and locating a posi- 
tion for the guns were unmolested. Then they saw 
the confidence which they had inspired impel the 
British onward, Long's batteries sweeping forward 
on the right centre. Hart's brigade in quarter-column 
on the left, — both seemingly irresistible targets for 
the outposts. But not a shot was fired; they awaited 
the approach of their victims into a certain and un- 
failing zone, when they loosed the restraint and 
achieved a brilliant success. 

It was partly accidental. Hart had first to cross 
a spruit and donga at accessible points, and could not 
deploy until he had passed beyond. Long had ex- 
plicit orders to keep his field batteries with the 6th 
Brigade. But he took a gunner's initiative, and 
after superficial investigation led his guns forward 

255 



In South Africa with Buller 

to within 300 yards of the reoccupied trenches, rely- 
ing, however, on a portion of Barton's brigade to 
scour the woods in which the Boers were hiding. 
The order for this miscarried. 

The drill-books need revision. As laid down, 1700 
yards is the limit of artillery vulnerability from rifle 
fire, but the Mauser can be effective to 2000 yards. 
This rifle is the best extant. The Spaniards and 
Boers have demonstrated its superiority against 
the Krag-Jorgensen and Lee-Metford respectively. 
Eventually, I think the British arm will be rated 
second and the Krag third, though the detached 
magazine has many disadvantages. 

There was another combined fault and accident of 
war. Hlangwane Hill, on the near side of the river, 
was a key to the situation. The Boer left was 
strong, and covered some stiff hills and country, but 
there was no river to cross, and the northward trend 
of the Tugela here cut off the Boer retreat. The 
hills dominated the Colenso position in flank at ex- 
treme range, but well within reach of the naval guns. 

The importance of gaining a position across the 
river, and a fatal underrating of the strength of the 
enemy led its value to be minimized, and its capture 
was left to the Colonials. Dundonald soon realized 
both the importance of the position and his inabihty 
to take it single-handed, and through the lack of 
initiative of officers of Barton's brigade and the 
death of the galloper sent on to Buller for orders, 

256 



spirit of Initiative must be Fostered 

the Colonials were unsupported until the order for 
retirement, which they executed unwillingly and 
with difficulty. 

The South African campaign has furnished glaring 
instances of excessive initiative and the lack of that 
quality, of debatable value in war. In the extended 
formations of the day a spirit of initiative unknown 
and unnecessary in the massed formations of the great 
Frederick must be fostered not only in officers, but in 
the men. The commander of an army now cannot 
hope to achieve success unless he can rely on the 
anticipation of his desire by subordinate commanders 
even to the least degree, and count on an intelligent 
initiative by which they will meet the exigiencies of 
the situation in a manner calculated to further the 
general plan. Unlooked-for contingencies must arise 
in a modern battle, when the delay of forwarding a 
report and receiving direct orders would prove fatal. 
The Boers have given many practical illustrations 
of the value of collective individuality at critical 
moments. Pedantry has established defined rules 
for every occasion and emergency in the British 
army, but the spirit of forethought and individuality 
of officers leads more often to success than does 
rigid observance of rules. But initiative that ends in 
failure may have a court-martial sequel. 

General Buller's weakest arm was artillery. The 
recognized proportion of three guns per thousand 
infantry is an estimate that will now be very consid- 
17 257 



In South Africa with Buller 

erably augmented. Long range and barbed wire 
rather resolve field into siege operations ; they are no 
longer widely separate. In a difficult country the 
need of howitzer batteries is paramount. Under 
what I will now term obsolete rule, Buller should 
have had at least sixty-six guns. He had but thirty- 
six field guns, — one battery of which was operating 
as horse artillery with Dundonald, — and the naval 
contingent, which in an attack like that of Colenso 
were worth more than the two brigade divisions. 

There is much hysterical gush written about the 
outranging of the British field guns by Boer artillery, 
the critics overlooking the conflicting claims of 
mobility and range. The Boers had ample time to 
place heavy guns into position which naturally 
outranged the field pieces of their opponents, built 
chiefly for rapidity of movement. The field artillery 
is satisfactory for its own work. It is not intended 
for siege purposes; and the fault lay in the tardy 
■despatch . of the howitzer batteries which could 
operate effectively against strongly intrenched posi- 
tions. Since naval guns are not always available, 
there is a distinct need also of heavier cannon, which 
can be detached and mounted for effective field ser- 
vice from the garrison artillery. 

That the field guns could and should be improved, 
I do not deny. The War Office for several years 
has shelved the question of improving the field bat- 
teries. They realized that the practice of warfare was 

258 



Field Guns 

in course of revolution, and with an economic wisdom 
that has caught them napping, they were waiting 
until the best gun on the market had been evolved, 
when they could re-arm the batteries according to a 
developed situation. Experimental batteries have 
tried new guns, but England does not share the 
feverish apprehensions of war suffered by the Conti- 
nental Powers. In waiting to profit by their demon- 
strations, she suddenly found herself a principal in a 
war with one of the most difficult opponents in his- 
tory. She had to face the most retrogressive, yet one 
of the bravest, of the world's races, who had pur- 
chased fine military brains and weapons in Europe, 
and in a country built by nature in impregnable 
fortresses, they applied them in combination with 
their own singular methods and steadfast courage. 

Both Germany and France observe absolute secrecy 
with regard to their weapons. In 1897, Germany 
expended forty-four million marks on a quick-firing 
field-gun. France then at once equipped one hun- 
dred field batteries with a new quick firer. Russia, 
of course, was next moved to action, and General 
Engelhardt devoted himself to perfecting an improved 
field gun, which was supplied to the field batteries by 
the Alexandrousk and Pontilov works. 

The French and German field guns outrange the 
British 15-pounder by 1000 yards. The French 
weapon, which is the more perfect, I believe, has a 
calibre of three inches ; its recoil is entirely nega- 

259 



In South Africa with Buller 

tived, and it can thus deliver fifteen shots per 
minute. This is nearly five times as many as those 
fired by the United States field gun, and three times 
as many as the British field gun with spade attach- 
ment. The Russian gun is a 14-pounder (calibre 
3.42), with a muzzle velocity of 1,950 feet per 
second, and a stated record of sixteen shots per 
minute, the recoil being checked by hydraulic 
buffers, and negatived by india-rubber springs and 
an attachment similar to the telescopic spade of Sir 
George Clarke which is now fitted to the British field 
guns. 

The Transvaal had quietly purchased an ample 
equipment of Krupp and Canet quick-firers, and 
vicious little Vickers Maxims (.37 mil.), which spit 
out a demoralizing stream of 20-oz. shells. The 75 
mil. Creusot, that is, the Schneider-Canet (14|- 
pounder), of which the Boers have four eight-gun 
batteries, is 1 cwt. lighter than the British 15-pounder; 
its shrapnel has 234 bullets (24 more than its oppo- 
nent), and its recoil is checked by the Engelhardt 
(Russian) attachment. It sustained a fire of ten 
rounds per minute at its trial at Le Creusot ^ on behalf 

1 The celebrated Le Creusot works were founded in France by 
an Englishman named Wilkinson in time to furnish arms for the 
sea and land forces when France was affording not wholly disinter- 
ested aid to the American colonies. The founder was one of the 
many Britishers who sympathized with the revolted colonists, who 
were fighting for the very principle that English people had striven 
to maintain against the Stuarts, and which Anglo-Saxon Uitlanders 
have demanded in vain from President Kruger. Wilkinson could 

260 



Equipment of Boers 

of the Transvaal government. Its shrapnel range is 
4,500 yards, with a muzzle velocity of 1,837 feet 
per second. Besides these, the Boers have several 
Creusot and inferior heavy guns, 4, 4.7, and 6 inch, 
mounted on specially built carriages. 

By dint of long practice in moving loaded wagons 
across their frightful country, they have infused 
miraculous mobility into their massive Creusots, and 
by means of blocks and tackle and the simple intro- 
duction of ordinary ploughs, requisitioned from the 
farms and fixed to drag-ropes to retard descent, 40- 
pounders and large calibre howitzers have been moved 
from hill to hill with astounding celerity. 

But for the naval guns, the British army would 
have been in sore plight. For field guns to come 
within possible range of the main artillery position 
was impossible, since the former was chosen far in 
rear, and the opposing gunners would be within easy 
rifle range of the foremost trenches. To pit field 
guns against intrenched riflemen is futile. The 
Boers have fuses timed for 5,200 yards; the shrap- 
nel opposing them is limited to 4,100. Beyond 5,000 
yards the fire of the British field guns is precarious, 
and 5,500 is their limit unless the trail is sunken, at 
extreme risk to mountings. 

Dr. Johnson, speaking of the insidious danger of 

not obtain a settlement, and was ruined. Singularly, a British com- 
pany which was working Le Creusot during the Franco-Prussian 
war was also ruined when its bills on the imperial government were 
rejected by the Commune. 

261 



In South Africa with Buller 

small debts, said, " Big debts are like big guns ; they 
make much noise, but do little harm." Until the 
perfection of the elongated projectile and flattened 
trajectory, the effect of artillery was rather moral 
than material. Before assaulting the Diippel re- 
doubts, the Prussians prepared the advance by firing 
11,500 shell in less than six hours. These inflicted 
small loss but great demoralization on the plucky 
Danes. Artillery is now a strong deciding factor in 
reducing the fire of an intrenched enemy and making 
assault within the realms of possibility. Moral effect 
remains, however, and five minutes' furious shelling 
will generally be more efficacious than an hour's 
desultory fire. 

The early British successes in South Africa were 
not helpful, inasmuch as they gave false hypotheses 
for a general plan, and caused loss of life and time 
pending rectification. The howitzer batteries were 
delayed to the last, adjudged useful perhaps in re- 
ducing Bloemfontein, necessary only for the fall of 
Pretoria. The authorities overlooked the miles of 
natural fortresses to be overcome ere Natal was 
cleared or the enemy's country invaded. 

The siege train consisted of fourteen 6 -inch, eight 
5-inch, and eight 4-inch howitzers. The 6-inch has 
a range of 10,000 yards, the others firing 9,000 yards. 
Their high-angle fire of 35° to 40° enables them to 
lob shells over the heads of advancing infantry, to 
cover assault almost to the point of the final rush with 

262 



Invention of Woolwich Arsenal 

the bayonet. Field guns must usually cease firing 
when the lines of attack are within 500 yards of the 
position, though this rule is governed by the config- 
uration of the ground. 

Lyddite, the bursting charge of the shells fired by 
the howitzers, is an improvement on the French 
melenite. A secret invention of Woolwich Arsenal, 
it is named after the gunnery range at Lydd, Kent. 
Its explosive force may be judged from Omdurman, 
when one shell, penetrating a hard clay bank, ex- 
ploded and blew its base over the heads of the firing 
battery, 3,000 yards distant. In the present conflict 
it has neither upheld nor disproved its reputation. 
The shock of explosion is said to kill at a radius of 
forty yards, but the Boers declare it a harmless explo- 
sive. Since they have chiefly experienced it against 
their bombproofs, and the thousands of shell that 
they hurled into Ladysmith produced such slight 
loss, the rough statistics gathered from prisoners 
show that its effect is at least threefold greater than 
that of their melenite. 

Half a century ago a French chemist found that 
cotton wool treated with nitric acid was inflammable 
to an extent that ranged its force with gunpowder, 
suddenly developing a volume of gas, combustible in 
the presence of oxygen. Few thought that this 
discovery would revolutionize warfare. It was many 
years before the tremendous advantages of a slow- 
burning explosive were recognized, but finally from 

263 



In South Africa with Buller 

gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine mutual solvents have 
been found, producing cordite, melenite or lyddite, 
all of which obviate the fibre and clogging of gun- 
cotton. In the two latter, however, used maiiil}' for 
bursting, not impelling charges, pure carbolic acid is 
treated with nitric acid, picric acid being the result. 
This can be poured into the shell in liquid form and 
has none of the risks of dynamite in exploding with 
the shock of discharge. It is detonated by fulminate 
of mercury and picric powder, one acting on the 
other, and thus on soft ground the shells are liable 
not to explode. 

Reverse at every point aroused the complacent 
British public to the magnitude of the operations in 
South Africa. The Little Englanders and the " agin 
the governments " of all denominations who had 
charged Mr. Chamberlain with inciting the war now 
found it necessary to alter their tactics. ^ The govern- 
ment that they had charged with undue belligerence 
was now arraigned with lack of preparation for war. 
But the nation, which has cried out if the army esti- 
mates were excessive, not the government, was to 
blame for the shortcomings that would have been far 
greater in any other country, Germany excepted. 

1 Most of the shortcomings were unavoidable in a great mobiliza- 
tion where only a small standing army is maintained. The blatant 
criticism from the ex-Secretary of War was in specially bad taste, 
since his niggardly policy when in office was notorious, and even 
smokeless powder was not of his mind. The country should con- 
gratulate itself that his party was not in power. 

264 



Dutch have Cost England Dearly 

And leaving recrimination to petty politicians, the 
people, shouldered the responsibility, providing money 
and men to press the war to the end. 

Reverse was salutary for the arrogance of national 
spirit, strengthened in the British race by their power 
and progress. Illogical patriotism is a fault of 
Americans and British, as well as of less favored 
nations. National histories are too apt to minimize 
defects, obscure defeats, and glorify successes beyond 
proportion. Centuries of success in warfare account 
for British pride; but insular prejudice, common in 
the Englishman, causes a universal dislike. 

In history the Dutch have cost England dearly, 
and blood will tell, even if it is mixed and traits are 
perverted. But since vast resources must eventually 
win, let us give glory to Kruger for two things, — • 
uniting the vast British empire and teaching British 
pride a salutary lesson. Assumption of invincibility 
begotten by victories of the past is liable to foster a 
self-complacency of the present that is dangerous. 
Armaments must be adapted to foreign policy, or the 
policy to the armaments, and the country has lived 
too long on Trafalgar and Waterloo. 

Like the North in the Civil War, the British com- 
menced by underrating their opponents and the task 
before them. Bad practice in war is worse than 
none, and successive campaigns of civilization against 
savages taught British officers much that they have 
unlearned in South Africa. Fortunately, Anglo- 

265 



In South Africa with Buller 

Saxon level-headedness came to the rescue in the 
hour of trouble; and where Latin races would have 
overthrown the ministry, the British took Lincoln's 
advice and did not " swap horses when crossing the 
stream," only augmenting the leadership of the army 
to make it commensurate with the increase of 
strength. 

Ere the stop-press insertions in the lightning extras 
were printed announcing Buller's defeat, the Cabinet 
was in session, orders had been issued for the sixth 
division to start at once, and the remaining reserve 
was called up. Five hours after the official despatch 
was received, the calls for mobilization were speed- 
ing over the wires, and troops were equipped, pro- 
visioned, and embarking ere the week closed. 

Now the war touched home. Roberts and Kitch- 
ener, popular idols, were to direct, and the great 
cities, towns, and countryside gave up their youth 
and manhood for the reserve, militia, and auxiliary 
forces. The volunteers left the counting-house and 
counter to form the selected contingents from the 
auxiliaries, enrolled only for home defence but rally- 
ing readily for foreign service. The Yeomanry 
(volunteer cavalry) responded with like alacrity, and 
the farm-helps relinquished the plough for the rifle, 
swelling the militia establishment until every bat- 
talion was over strength and besieged with appli- 
cants. And every London police court was filled with 
deserters, many of long standing, surrendering to face 

266 



The Parting 

the long averted punishment, only to be with the old 
regiment on active service. 

The regular army, if not at war, is on foreign ser- 
vice, and the soldiers' friends and families are used to 
parting : regulars are paid to fight, they are " absent- 
minded beggars,"^ with whom sentiment is not 
allowed. But the conservative British public was 
now called upon to give up its sons; the honor of the 
country was at stake. War no longer meant paying 
men 12 pence per day to do the fighting; it entailed 
giving up some near and dear one, a break in the 
sacred home circle. Yet nobly did the women of 
England answer the call. After all, women rule the 
world, for what man went off to fight but through or 
for "her"? 

Responsible political parties were now united, and 
even dear old Ireland imbibed the enthusiasm, to the 
chagrin of the New York intransigents. The gal- 
lantry of her sons at the front stirred their warm 
hearts, and while frothy spellbinders waved Boer flags 
and raised counter demonstrations, Ireland forgot past 
wrongs for the nonce and shared in the pride and fear 
for the empire of which she is an integral part, and 
to which she has contributed so many soldiers. 

Ireland disloyal ? — and for the Boers ? I can only 
turn you to the subscription lists as they stood in the 
war's infancy. The " Irish Times' " fund for soldiers' 

1 An army sobriquet immortalized, but not originated, by Mr. 
Kipling. 

267 



In South Africa with Buller 

widows stood at £9,307 a few days after opening; 
Lady Roberts' appeal to the Irish netted £6,038 for 
soldiers' families, in as short a time; and strenuous 
endeavor by the Irish Nationalist Transvaal Aid 
Committee collected £83 from three million national- 
ists in a whole month. Reverse, I hear, increased 
the disparity. The war with Spain united North and 
South, and to-day the British empire stands unified 
as never before. 

In the Travellers' Club, members were crowding 
round the ticker as the sparse items from Colenso 
filtered in and were read aloud by the nearest mem- 
bers. Most had some relative or friend at the front, 
and in their eagerness few noticed the hero of Kan- 
dahar. A meagre account of Buller's lost guns — 
heroism of the officers — the sufferings of Lieutenant 
Roberts, recommended for the V.C., but gone beyond 
earthly honors. — Then they noticed the quiet, well- 
knit figure standing in their midst. " Bobs " aged 
twenty years in as many seconds. Every head was 
bared in an instant, but none could speak. Quietly 
the old soldier stood to the bitter end, a tinge of pride 
illuminating the ashy gray hue of grief as he heard 
how his boy had died. Then he gravely saluted, and 
turned to break the news to the wife and helpmeet 
of forty-one years of peace and war. 

A true soldier usually makes a devoted husband ; 
the opinions of those who know not army life not- 
withstanding. " To the country to which I am proud 

268 



Lord and Lady Roberts 

of belonging, to the army to which I am so deeply 
indebted, and to the wife without whose loving help 
my forty -one years in India could not be the happy 
retrospect it is, " writes Lord Roberts in the dedica- 
tion of his greatest work. And from the day that the 
young hero of the Sepoy Mutiny recuperating from 
his wounds met Miss Nora Bews of Waterford, the 
soldier and his wife have been inseparable. Aligarh, 
Lahore, Bombay, Waterford, and Portsmouth are but 
points on the long routes that sing their praise. 

" My desire to have him near me must never stand 
in his way," said the young wife to Lord Clyde ere 
the honeymoon was over, when Hope Grant had been 
"considerately " selected for China in "Bobs' " stead. 
And from that day they have shared hardships and 
perils together, until to-day Lady Roberts and her 
daughter are nursing wounded near the firing line, 
following the general closely to the front. Would 
that I had the space to tell more of their life from 
early Waterford days to Bloemfontein. The death of 
their first-born at Simla, the care of the soldier for 
his stricken wife, camped alone in the wildest coun- 
try, the death of their second child on shipboard, the 
attempted murder of the baby boy by his Hindoo 
nurse, whom destiny foiled to provide posterity with 
the Colenso hero — all these are episodes in their 
eventful career. Of "Bobs'" military glory you 
know, and he is going far to prove his ability to rank 
with the greatest generals of serious wars. 

269 



In South Africa with Buller 

With Lord Roberts in command, the conqueror of 
the Soudan, with his vast administrative ability, made 
an ideal chief of staff, and for rank and file no more 
popular men could have been selected to level " old 
Krewjer" and his "Paulies," as Tommy dubbed the 
Boers. Their confidence in Buller was unbounded, 
but Kipling has not exaggerated their love for 
"Bobs." He is their idol, and they rejoiced exceed- 
ingly when the general, who had landed in 1881 to 
uphold the British flag, only to find a mistaken mag- 
nanimity had forestalled him, was selected to under- 
take the task that he prophesied would be necessary 
when the halt was called nineteen years before. 

The failure to force the Tugela had but whetted 
the appetite of the army for fighting and stiffened a 
determination for victory. The combination of races 
in the regiments and the empire is a happy one. The 
fiery impetuosity of the Irish, fully restrained by dis- 
cipline but always available when necessary, the dash 
of the Scotch combined with their unusual staying 
powers, the cool patience of the plucky Welsh, and 
the stolid perseverance " never-be-beat " qualities of 
the English, make an effective combination. 

Many of the Boers expected that the British would 
desist after Colenso. "Chamberlain has had his 
Majuba, and will now cry for peace," said well 
informed leaders to their prisoners of war. General 
Joubert returned to the front on the 18th to find the 

270 



Christmas Day 

fighting resolved to affairs of outposts, and the bri- 
gades withdrawn to Frere. On the 20th a Hussar 
patrol was ambushed as far south as Weenen, and 
surrounded, cutting its way out with loss. The Colo- 
nials were rapidly on the scene, the Boers retiring on 
their approach, just before dark. Instead of return- 
ing to camp, the Colonials bivouacked, hiding in the 
kopjes at sunrise. A force of Boers soon returned, 
making an eager race to secure the clothes and 
equipment of the dead Hussars. While the burghers 
were stripping the dead and quarrelling over the 
spoils, the Colonials swooped down on them, killing 
and capturing some and dispersing the rest. 

Christmas day was observed by an informal truce at 
Colenso, but the ringing of the church bells in Lady- 
smith, announcing the era of "peace on earth and 
good- will to man," was the signal for a terrific bom- 
bardment by the Boers, the Town Hall Hospital, as 
usual, being the target. The beleaguered garrison 
had little cheer for feasting, but the relieving column 
tried to forget recent losses, and made exceeding merry 
on camp fare. 

The naval detachment was first awake, and enliv- 
ened the camp with the Yuletide chorus, " God rest 
ye, merrie gentlemen," that made many a soldier pause 
'twixt sleeping and waking, to prolong the dream of 
past festivals at home with waits, carols, and the 
family reunion, ere they roused to face the realities 
of war and the thermometer. 

271 



In South Africa with BuUer 

Many a home o'er the sea had a vacant chair. 
Some of the absent ones were sleeping beside the 
Tugela , the others thought sadly of the home circles 
many were destined never again to see. Ah, aching 
hearts of mothers, wives, and sisters! It is hard 
consolation that your dear ones gave their lives in 
sustaining reverse. Yet those brave young lives were 
not uselessly expended ; and remember that they died 
bravely, fighting as they retired even as they had 
fought to advance. Their lives were not in vain, 
little as the battle gained. 

And you, stricken Boer women! They tell us 
that your feelings are not deep, that you widows 
soon take new husbands, and sweethearts new beaux. 
But if you have your failings, can they tell us that 
a mother yearns not for her son, or a wife for her 
husband? The finer feelings of life may be blunted 
by environment, but can that change a woman's 
heart? May the God you worship sustain you in 
your hour of trial. Your loved ones have died 
fighting for the cause they believed just — sacrificed 
by a misunderstanding fostered and made an open 
breach by whited sepulchres among you whom the 
Almighty will judge. They have called upon Him 
recklessly. Let Him be arbiter ; but if you find in 
a happier era that your leaders and their aliens have 
misled you, think not that their wrongs sully the honor 
of your humble dead, for they fought for high ideals 
— duty and country — and will be held guiltless. 

272 



Christmas Dinner 

The gloom of homesickness, which so easily de- 
velops into a dangerous nostalgia, was soon dispelled 
in the camps on Christmas day. A military tourna- 
ment for all arms was arranged by the officers, and of 
course Jack had a mule race, though why the two 
enjoy an incongruous affinity no one can tell. The 
sailors' discipline was the more relaxed, and they 
rigged an international procession for the edification 
of "Tommy," in which Kruger, John Bull, and 
" Rule Britannia " were to the fore. 

Then came the Christmas dinner. The tons of 
supplies despatched by absent friends had not arrived, 
but the officers arranged for beer for their men, extras 
from the commissariat were lavishly issued, some fine 
fat oxen were captured from the Boers, and the 
veteran correspondent, Bennet Burleigh, carted up 
cake, tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes ad lib., and 
arranged a camp fire for all hands, the day being 
closed with topical songs, chiefly referring to good 
things in store for Uncle Paul, — " When next we 
travel to the Cape, by gum! we '11 go via Cairo" 
making a great hit. 

Then ensued days of quiet. Picket firing and 
skirmishes on the flanks closed up the old year, — I 
was tempted to say the century, but 't is a disputed 
point. The Boers announced 1900 to Ladysmith 
with a terrific bombardment, to celebrate Hogmanay 
and the anniversary of that hour, four years before, 
when Dr. Jameson marred the peace of South Africa. 
18 273 



In South Africa with Buller 

Reinforcements were coming to Buller. General 
Warren, the Free State's friend, whom past experi- 
ence in the country made a useful ally, brought a 
division. Howitzers made their tardy appearance, 
and field batteries replaced the lost guns and strength- 
ened the arm. The Boers felt round the flanks at 
Frere and were thrice punished for their temerity. 
Then an unexpected flood of the Tugela isolated all 
on the south bank, and many were rounded up. The 
force at Hlangwane should then have been rapidly 
attacked. The bridge they had rigged was swept 
away, and a Roosevelt would have "clipped in," and 
perhaps succeeded in inflicting a salutary lesson. 
But elaborate operations were planned, and the river 
fell before execution. 

Botha continued to strengthen his position, laying 
a light tramway, so that his guns could be rapidly 
concentrated at desired points, and constructing bomb- 
jjroof alleys leading from trenches, in which a horse- 
man could ride in perfect safety. At Ladysmith the 
Boers were forming a colossal dam across the Klip, 
that it might overflow and flood Ladysmith. They 
perhaps overlooked the fact that such a flood would 
have swept away the sick and neutral camp at 
Intombi. Such a course would have outrivalled 
MacMahon's plan to burn out the Prussian skirmish- 
ers and sharpshooters from the woods at Weissenburg. 
Napoleon then refused permission, on humanitarian 
grounds, and lost hundreds of men thereby; and it is 

274 



Arrival of Blacks in Camp 

a pity that Joubert, who gained universal esteem of 
friend and foe, lent himself to this plan which he at 
first opposed. Fortunately the dam was built slowly ; 
the impressed Kaffirs constantly deserting from Boer 
lashes to the English lines, where they had free 
rations and were unmolested, — and Ladysmith was 
relieved just before its completion. 

Hundreds of blacks who escaped from the enemy 
arrived in camp with their backs wealed to the bone 
by sjamhoJcs. The unfortunate Natal natives were 
forbidden by the government to take up arms in their 
own defence, and then found their mealies and cattle 
looted by the invaders, and themselves impressed to 
labor day and night while their unfortunate wives and 
children starved. There is a terrible story also of 
violation of their girls ; but mercenaries and dissolute 
young burghers were to blame for this, and it should 
not be laid to the Boers, though their exegesis al- 
lowed such things. I have heard the charge of official 
cruelty by the British to the blacks. But I have seen 
much of British administration of black and brown 
men, from chicken-hearted rice-eaters to West Afri- 
can cannibals. The uncivilized black should not be 
treated like a pampered child, but I have always 
found that the British government errs in that direc- 
tion ; and white men who treat a native severely find 
to their cost that all are equal under the law, and an 
unlawful killing means a lawful hanging, — eye for 
eye, tooth for tooth. 

275 



In South Africa with Buller 

The natural elation of the Boers over their stupen- 
dous victories led them to formulate plans for peace, 
which revealed their colossal ignorance of British 
spirit and resource. The cession of Natal and Kim- 
herley and an indemnity of $100,000,000 did not seem 
preposterous terms after three reverses and the fall of 
Mafeking and Ladysmith, which was now assured. 

The peace conditions were prepared and only waited 
for the final acts in the British tragedy. To expedite 
these, the bulk of the forces were withdrawn from 
Colenso, where the flooded river held Buller, and 
concentrated to storm Ladysmith. Matt Steyn, the 
President's brother, and several Free Staters, de- 
clared, however, that it needed a Colenso to rouse 
the British, and Ladysmith 's fall would only start the 
war; and while the Trans vaalers were predicting 
speedy triumph, he and a number of his compatriots 
demanded leave to tend their crops and thus prolong 
supplies. Thirty of them deserted to the British 
lines. 

In a driving rain at two a.m., January 6th, four 
columns of Boers crept up against the Ladysmith 
defences. White's garrison was decimated with 
fever, and since they had to hold a perimeter of over 
thirteen miles, outposts could not be strongly sus- 
tained at any one point. The enemy had quickly 
detected the weak spot in the encircling defences. 
Caesar's camp, a broad plateau 800 feet above Lady- 
smith, guarded the south side of the town. This 

276 



Boers Crawl up Wagon Hill 

eminence had proved easy to defend, but on its 
western end it merged after a depression into a lower 
position, Wagon Hill, the connecting nek and dry 
water-courses making possible breaches in the British 
line. 

The Boers first waded up Fourier's Spruit, and 
dividing in two parties started to crawl up each 
side of Wagon Hill. The outlying pickets, composed 
of Colonials, challenged the Boers, but receiving 
the reply " Town Guard " in perfect English, they 
allowed them to advance close, and were knocked 
down with clubbed rifles and killed ere they could 
give the alarm. Lieutenant Mathias of the Light 
Horse, walking down to visit his guards, suddenly 
found himself among the enemy, but he coolly turned 
and crept upward with them, unnoticed, springing in 
the lead on the summit and giving the alarm. 
Shouting to the guards to turn out, he sprang to the 
head of his detachment. He was joined by a working 
party of sappers that were fortunately constructing a 
gun pit in the darkness, to strengthen the very point 
of assault. But this little party was assailed on both 
flanks and swept back over the ridge. 

The Heidelberg commando under Van Wyk and 
the Harrismith Free Staters under De Villiers formed 
this forlorn 'hope which had penetrated the British 
lines. The main force was to hurl itself into the 
breach at dawn. But the pickets resisted the Free 
Staters' assault stoutly ; the expelled outposts rallied, 

277 



In South Africa with Buller 

and the enemy found their advance along the nek 
to take Caesar's camp in flank was stoutly opposed by 
less than thirty men. Young MacNaghten of the 
Scots led this sorry handful to the crest, where a 
squadron of Light Horse was surrounded in a sangar, 
and only shared in their annihilation, the Boers tem- 
porarily obtaining Wagon Hill. It was soon evident 
that the assault was more than an affair of outposts, 
and reinforcements were hurried out ere the sun rose. 

The Boers then retired to the cover of the outer 
crest, and reversed the use of the empty sangars. The 
British clung to the inner crest, sheltered by boul- 
ders and depressions. A space of twenty-five yards 
divided the two forces. The Light Horse clung to a 
rocky position rising on the nek, and poured in a cross 
fire; but they suffered very severely and changed 
commanding ofiicers seven times during the day. 
Their officers were practically wiped out. Lord Ava 
galloped along the line to find a point from which the 
spruit could be covered, along which Boer reinforce- 
ments were pouring. He was instantly killed. The 
burghers then attempted to rush round the flank, but 
they were met by seven troopers, who were shot to 
pieces but held on long enough for reinforcements to 
arrive, and did not vainly sacrifice themselves. 

Thrice detachments tried to sweep across the open 
to sustain the hardly-pressed Light Horse ; for with 
Boers in their position the entire hill would be enfil- 
aded and untenable. Major Mackworth, then Cap- 

278 




^1 



O C) 



Boers Driven Back 

tain Codrington, and finally Lieutenant Todd, led 
these rushes, and in each case the officers were killed 
with most of their men. 

A mile away on the other flank the Heidelberg 
commando had surprised Hunt-Grubbe and the outly- 
ing pickets, wiping out the outposts resting in the 
first line of defences. But on a narrow portion of the 
ridge sixteen of the Manchester regiment, without an 
officer, clung to a narrow trench and fought to the 
end. Boers crawled up on either side of this isolated 
force and poured in volleys the entire day, shouting 
at intervals to the survivors to surrender. A con- 
tinual but diminishing fire was their answer, and after 
fifteen long hours' continuous resistance relief came 
and the Boers were driven back. As the Devons 
with fixed bayonets cleared the enemy from the hill 
at sunset, they heard the regular cracking of two Lee 
Metfords easily discernible from the Mausers. In 
the trench where the picket had been surrounded 
fourteen lay dead, some killed after many wounds. 
And of the two survivors, one sorely wounded loaded 
the rifles as he lay on the ground, handing them to 
the other as he fired in quick succession. The latter 
powder-grimed hero coolly saluted, reported his 
picket to the relieving officer, and fell senseless from 
exhaustion. 

Reinforcements were urgently needed at both places 
early in the day, but at 9 a.m. commandoes were 
seen hovering on the Helpmaaker road and before 

279 



In South Africa with Buller 

Observation Hill, and their diversion prevented con- 
centration at the assailed points. 

By 10, however, the Boer fire had dwindled, and 
the burghers fell back to cover in the bush and behind 
rocks. Every inch of the assailed positions was then 
searched by a terrific shell fire, against which the 
British field batteries could not reply until they were 
advanced into the open, where they put in splendid 
practice. 

Beyond Intombi, at midday, swarms of horsemen 
appeared in full view, riding fearlessly in the open, 
for their advance was screened by the women in the 
neutral camp, and the hospital tents upon which the 
British could not fire. Leisurely dismounting, they 
disappeared like rabbits among the rocks, and began to 
stalk their way in, the movement of the mimosa, or a 
glimpse of a ragged coat scuttling behind a boulder, 
being the only indications of their advance in Zulu 
tactics. 

Taking what cover they could, the soldiers fired 
when they saw a head, and were shot when they 
exposed themselves above the ridge. Then suddenly 
from a tiny watercourse hidden by rocks, some one 
descried a force of the enemy creeping close to the 
summit. As the alarm was given, De Villiers and 
a picked force of desperate burghers leaped into a gun 
pit and swarmed over the ridge, firing as they ad- 
vanced, the tired troops falling back rapidly. Many 
were trying to lunch under fire when surprised, and 

280 



"Run, Brothers!" 

the confusion amounted to panic. But as the troops 
broke and retired, Major Wallnutt rallied a few men 
and held to the crest. De Villiers blew the Major's 
brains out with his own hand, his men were swept 
away, and the victorious Boers were rushing forward, 
when Lieutenant Digby Jones and six sappers sprang 
from the gun pit and resumed the fight. De Villiers 
killed Jones and fell mortally wounded himself; the 
sappers clung to the rocks and kept the Boers at bay 
until reinforcements came, and the ridge was saved, 
Lieutenant Dennis, Jones' mess chum, being killed as 
he bent over the body of his friend. 

A burgher now appeared walking slowly to the 
ridge with a white flag. The firing ceased, the men 
keeping well to cover to avoid treachery. But the 
Light Horse on their eminence could see the trick, 
for as he advanced a line of burghers squirmed like 
snakes through the brush on the hillside and would 
have swept over the crest but for this timely discov- 
ery. The " truce bearer, " shouting, " Run, brothers ! " 
dropped his flag and fled, and heavy volleys drove the 
treacherous foe to their lines. Later two wounded 
prisoners of war were brought forward and deliber- 
ately placed as a screen by three Boers, who stood up 
and shot at leisure. A Light Horse sharpshooter 
crawled forward and disposed of two of them; but 
the third was more difficult, and shots from other 
quarters, ere they brought down their man, riddled 
the wounded, killing one, though the other was res- 

281 



In South Africa with Buller 

cued alive with six bullets, British and Boer, in him. 
Though paralyzed, he stands a chance of recovery. 

The Devons now arrived on the scene, after a long 
march from a distant outpost. Fixing bayonets, they 
swept through the battered lines of defenders and 
cleared the Boers from the side of Caesar's camp, 
losing very heavily, however. The Gordons also 
advanced on the eastern slope, having lost their 
leader, Colonel Dick-Cunyngham, V.C., early in the 
day and being eager for revenge. Thus again the 
defences were cleared. 

But the enemy swarmed among the rocks and 
woods at the foot of the position, and shot off those 
who showed themselves on the crest. A frightful 
thunderstorm burst in the late afternoon, and the 
lashing rain proved the cover for the last Boer ad- 
vance. Water courses and rocks were not needed 
now. It was nearly dark, the rain masked their 
advance to close quarters, when they swarmed in 
hundreds over the hill, yelling " Majuba ! " 

Never made they greater mistake than to thus at- 
tack in the open. Troops who are wary to charge in 
face of the potting of a lurking foe are brave as lions 
when facing a disclosed enemy. With a hoarse cry 
and fixed bayonets the British dashed forward. In 
distinct crashes were the magazines emptied — then 
they plunged in with cold steel. The burghers, cry- 
ing for mercy, retreated like a stampeded herd. 

The spruits lay before them, but the storm had 
282 



British Charge with Fixed Bayonets 

swelled streamlets into turbid floods. Before the 
rushing line of steel they were forced into the seeth- 
ing waters, many being swept away. Those who 
gained a crossing were pursued with rifle fire back to 
their hills, the field batteries harrying them when 
infantry were outranged. The diversions against 
the northern positions and Helpmaaker road tried 
to press in but were rapidly repulsed. 

Seldom has modern history recorded a more pro- 
longed or desperate duel between two bodies of reso- 
lute men. Boer gallantry was never more evinced 
than on this day, though they outnumbered the Brit- 
ish ; and one can only regret the universal treachery 
they exhibited and which is beneath such brave 
men. The British loss was 43 ofiScers and 320 men; 
the Boer loss, for once in the war, was the heavier, 
and 132 bodies were collected on the hills alone. Of 
the engaged regiments the casualties of the Imperial 
Light Horse were four-fifths of their entire strength, 
98 men answering roll-call that night. It has been 
stated that the Uitlanders were scheming cowards, 
unwilling to strike a blow for their own redemption. 
The incessant gallantry of this Uitlander corps, 
throughout the war on their behalf, belies the cal- 
umny; they were fighting for their liberty, homes, 
and property in the country of their adoption. 

Thoroughly disheartened, the Boers returned to 
their positions along the Tugela and resumed the in- 
vestment of Ladysmith. White, during a brief spell 

283 



In South Africa with Buller 

of sunshine, had managed to heliograph Buller that 
he was hard pressed. The mounted troops and 
advanced infantry brigades at once made a demon- 
stration at Colenso to relieve the pressure. But for 
the Tugela flood a successful assault might then have 
been delivered, as many guns and the bulk of the 
forces had been taken to Ladysmith. The guards 
left in the positions were lounging in clear view, 
and were severely mauled by the field batteries ere 
they could get to cover. Gallopers were then de- 
spatched to recall the absent forces, but they were 
too engrossed in assaulting the city, and it was an 
unfortunate combination of circumstances that Bul- 
ler was not prepared with pontoons to force a 
passage. 

Joubert now reoccupied his position on the Tugela 
in full force and strengthened the defences at ever}'^ 
point. Along twenty-one miles of natural fortifica- 
tions the Boer front extended. A kopje is prac- 
tically a vast stone heap : the boulders have only to 
be piled up as required, and it is a jagged fortress : 
the mountainous kops are Titanic editions of the 
same. Burghers and impressed natives slaved night 
and day, building gun pits and epaulments with 
prodigious bombproofs, which negatived the possi- 
bility of effective bombardment. 

For the defences of the Boers, imagine green and 
iron-brown eminences covered very thickly with mas- 
sive rocks. A hollow scraped behind a convenient 

284 



Defences of the Boers 

stone, three smaller rocks piled above, and the 
burgher has prepared his individual castle. The 
big rock shields his body, the smaller rocks — ■ an 
interstice between two, through which a rifle can 
rest, with a third placed above to complete the loop- 
hole, — protect his head. Even at close range there 
is little to detect these shelters from the thousand 
surrounding boulders; the thin vapor of smokeless 
powder is hidden by the sun haze. Visible trenches 
are then thrown up to attract the enemy's fire to 
unoccupied ridges ; tents are placed on prominent but 
safe places to draw shell fire. 

Of the thousands of bullets that ricochet harmlessly 
against the rocks, units find a billet. To render 
these shelters shell-proof, boulders are piled around 
with apparent carelessness, to form a rough enclosure ; 
and shrapnel are useless, and common shell must burst 
with a rare nicety or waste their force on the hillside. 

Gun pits are sunk on the reverse of the ridges and 
a chamber dug forward to within eight feet of the 
frontal ascent. Through this protecting wall of earth 
only a necessary embrasure is cut to the front of the 
ridge, so that the gun is worked in practically an 
underground chamber, served in absolute protection, 
and exposed only to a minimum of danger during the 
interval of discharge. Against such defences the 
British have had to advance across an open valley, 
exposed to the last to a fire before which troops 
cannot live. 

285 



In South Africa with Buller 

I have frequently scanned South African kopjes 
signalled as "occupied" by some wary scout, and 
with strong glasses it has been impossible to detect a 
sign of life or defence ; the hill looked like its neigh- 
bor which we had just passed. Reconnaissance may 
fail to detect or locate the enemy, advance guards 
pass unmolested, and suddenly the advancing regi- 
ment is greeted by a thousand rifles bursting from 
apparently nowhere. Besides an abundance of such 
positions beyond the Tugela, the heights and ridges 
were systematically intrenched, covered or protected 
passages were cut from the rear at all exposed points, 
some trenches were blasted in solid rock, and a 
more formidable position can scarcely be found in 
history. 



286 



CHAPTER X 

A Question op Supply. — Traits of the American Offi- 
cer. — Automobile Transport. — Dundonald's Dash 
TO Springfield. — Crossing the Tugela. — Boer Brav- 
ery. — Disaster of Spion Kop. — Vaal Krantz. 

Napoleon once said that no army marched with 
as much baggage as the British. This is true, and in 
part creditable ; for it may be attributed to the rigid 
desire to respect private property, and neither live on 
the land by commandeering local foodstuffs nor shel- 
ter or billet troops on the inhabitants, and to the care 
bestowed on the creature comforts of the army to 
preserve its health and sustain sick and wounded. 
There are wars that could be named where personal 
luxuries of the officers crowded out necessities for the 
men, and transportation of champagne and wine for 
the mess was provided when transport for soldiers' 
rations was meagre. 

I have seen nothing more touching than the care 
bestowed by American officers on their men, when 
they themselves lacked common essentials. I have 
always found that if the men were suffering priva- 
tions, the officers were certainly suffering greater 
ones. I stayed in several camps in Cuba, and in 

287 



In South Africa with Buller 

Tampa also, where the officers apologized for provid- 
ing water for meals. The men had secured an allow- 
ance of coffee, but " we did not wish to sponge on 
their ration." I have stayed in camps of many 
nationalities. I think I may safely say that the com- 
peer of the American officer in relation to his men 
does not exist. I have seen him die, I have seen 
British officers die, and many others. None die as 
do the sons of the two great liberty-loving countries, 
and in bravery they are equals. But in his consider- 
ation of his men, the American takes highest rank. 
A certain foreign attach^ told me that the American 
officer had the "foulest mouth " in the universe. He 
had seen much of a certain general who is the excep- 
tion that proves the opposite rule. No officer uses 
more temperate language, or has more inherent tact 
to extract a willing obedience. 

It was a relief to me after some previous experi- 
ence with the British officer in the field, to note that 
the South African campaign developed similar traits. 
Officers who proved so fearless and men who were 
brave to a fault naturally engendered a mutual re- 
spect, and it was refreshing to note the altered rela- 
tion after a few weeks' campaigning, and to find how 
much the officers suffered with their men, when face 
to face with death and impending disaster and a foe 
that needed much beating. 

When Buller decided to try a way round Colenso, 
he forbade unnecessary baggage; tents and person- 

288 




« q 



Dangers to Animals on the Veldt 

alities were barred in the preparations made to 
divert the line of communications from the railroad 
across an indifferent country. But though every 
ounce was essential, ammunition, rations, and hospi- 
tal supplies for 30, 000 men made an imposing train. 

With the advance divisions alone were 232 ox- 
wagons, 98 ten-span, 107 six-span, and 52 four-span 
mule-wagons, beside artillery and traction draught. 
Oxen prove satisfactory for transport in South Africa, 
and can readily be turned to food in emergency, but 
they are limited to two miles an hour over an ordi- 
nary track, and if overdriven they speedily become 
galled, footsore, and useless. In rain storms at night 
they require a measure of protection, or pneumonia 
will carry them off in scores ; and unless pasture is 
carefully selected, red water or tulip poison will 
decimate the teams. 

The horse and the mule, though capable of greater 
effort, must carry a considerable proportion of their 
own forage. Native animals can live on the veldt, 
but the British were forced to import their cattle and 
were at great disadvantage, where the Boers have no 
fear. The animals are also very susceptible to horse- 
sickness, the dreaded paarde ziehte, which annually 
makes its appearance throughout southern and 
central Africa. This plague develops suddenly, and 
either attacks the respiratory organs like a severe 
form of hay fever, developing into a cough, the head 
swelling rapidly until the animal dies after eight 
19 289 



In South Africa with Buller 

hours' agony, or appears in the digestive organs, 
when internal fever develops, which proves fatal 
within twenty-four hours. The disease is evidently 
a species of malaria, which is contracted by inhala- 
tion of the miasma or assimilation of the poison, 
probably in the dew, partaken when grazing. 

For animals exposed on the veldt there seems 
neither prevention nor cure. Experts expected that 
three-fourths of the British horses would contract the 
disease — the rate of mortality being 88 per cent. 
But the worst season has now passed, with the light- 
est epidemic in fifteen years. In case of recovery, 
the South Africans procure a certificate, and the 
" salted " horse is worth three times his old value. 

General Buller anticipated the risk of transport 
by importing military traction engines, famed on the 
Long Valley, where they have astonished all be- 
holders during the manoeuvres of recent years. Ani- 
mal traction is expensive, slow, cumbersome, and 
troublesome, and it is a painful tribute to " circum- 
locution " methods of the British War Office that 
the question of mechanical traction has so long been 
shelved. The Indian government experimented with 
specially built road engines just before the Afghan 
war of 1879. Through the whole campaign they 
proved their extreme usefulness ; but when they were 
worn out they were not replaced, and the British War 
Office made no great progress in the matter of steam 
traction. The Foreign Office has found the engines 

290 



Advantages of the Iron Horse 

of immense service beyond railliead in the construc- 
tion of the Uganda Railroad, and home service should 
have demonstrated their utility for South Africa 
without waiting to experiment, before finally ship- 
ping a regular supply. 

The advantages of the iron horse are many. In 
speed it can sustain eight miles per hour on a 
tolerable road, and travel night and day with no 
great delay. An engine requires less care than a 
single span of mules, and it will do the work of 100 
mules or 160 oxen. On arrival in camp, where 
animals must be groomed, rested, and fed, with light 
labor the engine works a dynamo, pump, or freezer, 
thus supplying the camp with electricity, water, and 
ice, if necessary. Coal for one engine is a small 
matter compared with fodder for 90 to 120 draught 
animals, and during halts, while the engine is rest- 
ing, the beasts continue to need forage. 

In bogs or on difficult ground, where animals 
would flounder hopelessly, the engine drops its load, 
crosses alone, and then draws the wagons over 
with a cable and drum. If the engine sticks or the 
ground is steep, anchors are fixed ahead with cables 
attached, and the road locomotive draws itself 
clear. 

Its greatest advantage is the tremendous shortening 
of transport trains. Major Crompton, Consulting 
Traction Engineer to Lord Roberts, computes that 
100 tons' load, to be transported fifty miles in South 

291 



In South Africa with Buller 

Africa, with fodder or fuel for the return journey 
empty, would require : — 

Length 
Time. of column. 

169 Ox-wagons (2,360 oxen) 127 tons fodder 6 days 5,910 yards 

14 Engines 14 tons fuel . 4 days 410 yards 

A much less number of men are required either to 
drive or guard, and the risks of capture in the latter 
are reduced to a minimum, especially if the engines 
are protected by bullet-proof plates, whereas in a 
narrow road a single bullet may kill an ox and delay 
the whole train until captured. 

But the present military engine is too heavy for 
practical purposes at all times, especially where pon- 
toons have to be crossed or roads are bad. Since 
macadam is not found everywhere, it should be largely 
supplemented by lighter traction. Two light engines 
or automobiles that can each carry and haul three 
tons under all conditions are obviously better than 
one that can transport seven tons with limitations. 
Messrs. Thorneycroft have constructed an automobile 
transport wagon which will carry a gun or a three-ton 
load two hundred miles in twenty-four hours, and it 
will also drag a trailer of two tons at a slightly 
decreased speed. Who could limit or estimate the 
possibilities of war with such a transport train ? 

By night and by day the mounted troops had 
scouted and patrolled before Colenso, pending fresh 
operations. Officers with tiny escorts risked death a 

292 



Preparations Made for an Advance 

hundred times to sketch the Boer positions, and the 
Colonials marched, counter-marched, and demon- 
strated, misleading the enemy or attempting to do so. 
On the chess-board of Natal the skilled players, 
BuUer and Joubert, anticipated each move of the 
other. A feint in force against the Boer right led 
Joubert to strengthen his left, and vice versa. For a 
time the Boers were in ignorance of British inten- 
tions, thanks to the provost marshal, who sent dis- 
loyalists to cool their heels in Maritzburg, despite the 
paternal solicitude for these gentry urged by the 
government. 

Closely guarded reconnaissance on the extreme 
right, covered adroitly by bombardment at Colenso, 
and the general report that Clery would advance via 
Weenen were anticipated by Joubert in the opposite 
direction; the Johannesburg commando under Viljoen 
and a force of Free Staters were sent to occupy 
Springfield. And when the need for concealment 
seemed less, and more open preparations for an ad- 
vance by this western route were made, the Boer 
general detected a second ruse, and withdrew Viljoen, 
sending part of his force east. This, of course, facil- 
itated the main advance. But marvellous shelter 
and commandeered forage enabled the burghers to 
keep their horses practically in the trenches ; and with 
their marvellous mobility and British immobility, 
no permanent advantage could accrue from their 
fallacious reasoning. 

293 



In South Africa with Buller 

After continuous rain, which again swelled the 
Tugela and in part shut the Boers from the southern 
bank, on January 10th Buller gave his first orders for 
a definite move, and moved quickly. On the previous 
night a dummy battery was rigged to replace the 
lyddite guns, supply columns with rations for a 
working week, paraded, and as the earliest dawn was 
breaking, the brigades were ordered to move west on 
Springfield. To the last moment conjecture was rife 
as to destination, and since popular sentiment favored 
an advance to the eastward, for once a movement was 
started without the Boers receiving warning in time 
for anticipation, their excessive cunning foiling them. 

Dundonald, with the scouts and Colonials, was 
first off. These irregulars, the Uhlans of the col- 
umn, pressed forward in a forced march to Spring- 
field, surprising the small Boer guard, and seized the 
iron bridge crossing the Little Tugela. Sending back 
men to announce that the objective was unoccupied, 
and leaving a guard on the bridge, the Earl pressed 
forward to the Tugela proper, taking the 78th Battery 
in lieu of horse artillery. 

Potgieter's Drift, by which Buller hoped to force 
the Tugela, lies 22 miles west of Frere. The cross- 
ing had caused serious apprehension to the staff. 
Among broken ground the river forms an S at this 
point, the fords being dominated by Swartz Kop, on 
the south bank, strongly intrenched, with the impreg- 
nable ridges of Brakfontein running east and west 

294 




^ £ 



Plucky Volunteers 

on the north bank, along which the main Boer line 
extended. 

Dundonald marched all night toward Swartz Kop, 
hoping to surprise it, and hold on until the main 
column arrived to sustain his effort. His initiative 
was dangerous, and his dash with the Colonials 
reminds one of the exploits of the English irregular 
Winslow and his troop of Baden cavalry at Lauter- 
burg. But as his vedettes rode cautiously forward, 
no enemy developed, and he found the position 
unoccupied. 

Trusting to the surprised outpost at Springfield, 
Viljoen had withdrawn his force to the east, leaving 
a small guard on the north side of the drift. Keep- 
ing his men under cover, Dundonald led a picked 
force down to the ford, where the cable ferry-boat 
had been hauled high into the slip on the far side. 
The horses of the outpost were grazing on the bank, 
but the vigilants were sleeping quietly at their post. 
Lieutenant Carlisle at once volunteered to swim the 
river and cut out the ferry-boat "under their noses." 
Turner, Cox, Barkley, Howell, CoUingwood, and 
Godden, all of G Company of the newly-fledged 
South African Light Horse, one of them an Ameri- 
can, were selected from the entire company that 
stepped forward when volunteers were asked for. 
This little party swam across the broad and turbid 
river and dragged the boat into the water. As they 
commenced to work it across, the tackle fouled, a 

295 



In South Africa with Buller 

dog on the bank commenced to bark, and a volley 
from the bank told the volunteers that they were 
discovered. 

Carlisle was wounded, and his assistants sprang into 
the water with him and commenced to swim back. 
Cox, however, with amazing gallantry, returned to 
shore on the far side of the pontoon, and squirming 
up the bank, severed the tackle with his jack-knife. 
The enemy were so engrossed in firing at the escaping 
men that they saw nothing of his action, until he 
turned and dived back into the water, and the freed 
float began to move slowly across, hauled by the men 
on the opposite bank. They then rushed down to 
shoot him, but were checked by steady volleys 
from the other side ; and by clinging to the lee side 
of the pontoon, Cox escaped their fire and safely 
rejoined his cheering comrades. 

The main column had left camp shortly after the 
Colonials. To their inexpressible regret, Barton's 
brigade was left at Chieveley to guard railhead and 
keep the Boers occupied in the centre. And well 
they performed their thankless task. "They also 
serve who only stand and wait." 

In the advance Hart's Irish were in the van, Hild- 
yard's brigade wheeling in behind them from Chieve- 
ley. Behind this division under Clery came Warren's 
division, consisting of Lyttleton's brigade of Rifles 
and Woodgate's newly arrived brigade of Lancashires. 
Coke's brigade formed a command with the corps 

296 



Rapid Advance on Springfield 

troops, thus making practically five independent com- 
mands, with the field force, under Clery, Warren, 
Coke, Barton, and Dundonald respectively. The 
artillery had been considerably strengthened by the 
howitzers and additional field batteries, but did not 
reach the full ratio for the augmented force. 

The rapid advance would have been impossible but 
for the traction engines. The tracks, misnamed 
roads, were quagmires, dongas were filled and drifts 
flooded, and at several points mules and oxen died 
of vain exertion in trying to haul the 650 wagons 
across. The traction engines made a new reputation. 
Sliding down the steep banks of the fords, ploughing 
their way through torrents before which draught 
animals could not stand, they effectively solved trans- 
port difficulties. Their weight and broad, flanged 
wheels pounded down the mud, the flanges gripping 
hardened soil, and at every difficult spot one of these 
"puffing Billies " was dropped to haul over strings of 
wagons by steel cables, the oxen and mules crossing 
unimpeded, and the troops passing streams dry shod 
by a span of wagons stalled in mid stream until all 
were over. By nightfall Clery had bivouacked near 
Springfield, Warren had pressed on into the town to 
take up a position on the right, Hildyard camping 
at Pretorius' farm, within easy reach of Deel Drift 
and the fords at Tugela junction. 

With the first gleams of morning sun a heliograph 
on Swartz Kop blinked the welcome news that Dun- 

297 



In South Africa with Buller 

donald held the ferry. It was a complete surprise. 
In less than twenty-four hours the army had been 
jumped far to the westward. All divisions were on 
the Tugela when the crestfallen picket rode to the 
Hoofdlaager and apprised Joubert and Meyer that 
the British had captured the ferry and were crossing 
the river. Botha was not then in command, having 
secured leave of absence a day previously. 

Warren took his division westward against the 
extreme Boer right. In the centre the naval guns 
and howitzers were mounted on Swartz Kop and an 
adjoining crest, Hildyard moved off the road and 
held the drifts at the Tugela junction, and the 
cavalry pressed on to A cton Homes on the extreme 
northwest. Buller established his headquarters at 
Spearman's Farm, and on Saturday his right and 
centre were only awaiting the development of 
Warren's flanking movement ere they attacked. 

Rapidly connected by telegraph, Barton then made 
a feint at Colenso, keeping the Boers occupied an- 
other day; and it was late on the 15th before they 
made a decided movement toward the ridges before 
Buller. Howitzers and naval guns greeted the 
burghers from a commanding position, which enabled 
them to search the Boer trenches and cover both 
centre and flank attacks. 

On Tuesday, January 16th, Warren was before his 
objective, and Buller ordered a general advance. 
Lyttleton's brigade was first across in the centre. 

298 



General Advance 

The Rifles, crossing the flooded drift at Potgieter's by 
a continuous chain, formed along the bank in skir- 
mishing order, sweeping the Boer outposts and ad- 
vance guard back to the main position. They also 
kept down a vicious fire from the flanks until a pon- 
toon ferry was fixed and the howitzer and field bat- 
teries sent over. 

Seven miles further west Sir Charles Warren threw 
his division over the Tugela, at Trigaardt's Drift, the 
Engineers erecting a pontoon under a heavy fire. He 
bivouacked at night toward the flank of the main Boer 
line, which extended southeast to Potgieter's along a 
series of ridges dominated by a great bastion, Spion 
Kop, on which the Boer right ostensibly rested 
though their flanks were "in the air," and they rapidly 
extended west along ridges through Acton Homes 
into the spurs of the Drakensberg, beacons being lit 
for reinforcements. 

Excessive caution seemed to have seized the British 
generals. Unwilling to repeat Colenso tactics, they 
clung to the outer works of the enemy while the artil- 
lery made a thorough preparation for assault, in which 
the kopjes suffered severely, the Boers resting securely 
in their bombproofs, or in rear of the ridges, awaiting 
developments. Under ordinary conditions all this 
was regular, but since the enemy was not in force, it 
afforded them time to bring down reinforcements 
with their guns, which they mounted at night, and 
prepare for defence. If the assault had been quickly 

299 



In South Africa with Buller 

pressed it would have stood greater chances of 
success. 

But BuUer's idea was to engage the enemy along 
the front while Warren's division forced its way by a 
detour through Acton Homes, passing round the Boer 
right and striking across the more open country to 
the hills surrounding Ladysmith. For this purpose 
he delayed until he had seventeen days' rations in 
reserve to send to Warren. With a division in their 
rear, the Boers would be forced to withdraw at least 
from the right half of their line before the Tugela, 
and Clery could throw his division forward, thus co- 
operating with Warren in raising the siege. 

But while the troops in the centre had established 
themselves in positions that would keep the line of 
communications clear to the westward, Warren, who 
was allowed great initiative, found it would be im- 
possible to extend a line of communications round the 
extreme flank. He sent the following despatch for 
the commander-in-chief: — 

" Left Flank, 19th January. 
" To THE Chief or the Staff, — I find there are 
only two roads by which we could possibly get from 
Trichardt's Drift to Potgieter's, on the north of the 
Tugela; one by Acton Homes, the other by Fair View and 
Rosalie. The first I reject as too long ; the second is a very 
difficult road for a large number of wagons, unless the 
enemy is thoroughly cleared out. I am, therefore, going 
to adopt some special arrangements which will involve my 

300 



First Hard Blow Struck 

stay at Venter's Laager for two or three days. I will send 
in for further supplies and report progress.^ 

A council of officers confirmed the impossibility of 
getting round with transport for only three days' 
rations, and it was decided to force back the Boer 
line until the division could break the cordon and 
press through to the rear, via Rosalie, to raise the 
siege, with haversacks and emergency rations in lieu 
of transport. 

On January 20th, the first hard blow was struck. 
Hildyard moved from Deel Drift on the right to sup- 
port Warren, and the irregulars covered the left 
flanks. The Light Horse rushed recklessly into the 
fray on the left, carrying all before them, and storm- 
ing a sugar-loaf kopje in face of a heavy fire. Several 
Americans serving with this force behaved with 
especial gallantry. Corporal Tobin, one of the cool- 
est, and a trained athlete, outstripped his squadron in 
the ascent, and as the burghers clung close to cover, 
he reached the ridge unperceived. Disturbed by the 
shouts of the stormers below them, whom they could 
not assail, his hoarse voice rising suddenly from the 

1 Sir Charles Warren had formulated his plans on the basis of 
S^days' rations. He had misunderstood BuUer's intention of keep- 
ing his supplies filled up as required, only burdening him with such 
transport as was necessary for the short period. BuUer's ability to 
do this has not been clearly demonstrated, but the possibility alone 
places a different aspect on the alteration of plan. With supplies 
assured the detour round Acton Homes could have been made. 

301 



In South Africa with Buller 

crest itself, "Now, boys, in with the bayonet!" de- 
cided the burghers, and they swarmed down the 
reverse. Tobin seated himself nonchalantly on the 
summit, and announced to his breathless comrades 
that the hill was his. His fame spread from drummer- 
boy to general. 

The regulars closed in swiftly, Hart's Irish in the 
centre, Woodgate's brigade on the right. Their 
charge was covered by the concentrated fire of the 
field batteries, which disconcerted the burghers, and 
the entire row of intrenched ridges were brilliantly 
carried with the bayonet. But the disheartening 
topography of Natal killed the triumph. A second 
row of kopjes, even stronger, lay beyond ; successive 
positions dominated the captured ridges, which be- 
came the objective of every gun in the vicinity. But 
sunset brought relief. When the next day, Sunday, 
was very young, the Boers, preparing their matutinal 
coffee, were sent to shelter by a sudden bombard- 
ment, under cover of which the irrepressible British 
charged across the intervening valley and carried the 
next position, despite heavy stone breastworks and a 
cross fire. The burghers did not appreciate the breach 
of the fourth commandment, and left their breakfasts 
cooking. But some of their gunners were "foreign 
infidels," and thus their guns could be worked with 
immunity on the Sabbath. 

On Monday, 22d, the British rested in the trenches 
under a heavy shell fire from the eminences in rear. 

302 



General Buller Visits the Position 

The naval guns and field batteries strove all day to 
silence the artillery, but those splendid Boer gun- 
ners sustained a fire that could neither be silenced 
nor excelled. 

General Buller visited the position on the 23d, and 
was dismayed at the exposed condition of the division. 
He strongly advised Warren to retire gradually and 
revert to the original plan of detouring on the left. 
He refused to sanction further delay — the assault 
must be pressed, or abandoned for the former 
manoeuvre. It was pointed out that the massive 
eminences beyond must be taken by surprise, and that 
all preparations had been made for a night attack on 
Spion Kop. He then waived his supreme authority 
and left the operation to develop, that the previous 
days' sacrifices might not be in vain. 

From Spion Kop to the hills against Ladysmith 
were sixteen miles of tolerably level veldt. "With a 
hostile force there, the holding of the Tugela would 
have been impossible, and the Boers fully realized 
their weakness by making the Kop their strongest 
point. Once the British worked beyond the Kop to 
the open ground, sustained defence would have been 
impossible. 

On Spion Kop trenches had been blasted from solid 
rock, and gun emplacements constructed on approved 
plans. The Kop is about four miles long, very steep 
on the western side, and with two high peaks on the 
northeast, and innumerable cuts and depressions in 

303 



In South Africa with Buller 

its gnarled, irregular summit. It completely bisected 
the Boer line. Held with artillery, it would become 
a pivot on which the right wing could be forced back, 
opening thereby a clear route to Ladysmith. The 
strong ridges of Brakfontein would also be exposed 
to artillery fire on their left rear, and rendered 
untenable. 

On the evening of January 23d, at 6.30 p.m.. Gen- 
eral Woodgate, with the Lancashire Fusiliers, Royal 
Lancashires, 17th Company Royal Engineers, and 
Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry, with two com- 
panies of the Connaught Rangers and the Imperial 
Light Infantry in support, advanced quietly to sur- 
prise the position. The stormers had a long and diffi- 
cult advance in the darkness, but finally reached the 
Kop and commenced the ascent. After nine hours' 
hard climbing, the treacherous summit, 1600 feet 
above the river, was gained. General Woodgate 
led the assault, guided by the fitful gleam of the Boer 
camp-fires. The camp was taken completely by sur- 
prise; the burghers, awakened from sleep, turned and 
fled in confusion, pursued by rapid volleys from the 
British, who gained the position with a loss of three 
men. 

The Engineers hastily constructed a trench, the 
rocky nature of the ground making it impossible to 
dig effectively. Rain had fallen the whole night and 
the troops were thoroughly exhausted by their long 
march and the ascent, but there was little time to 

304 



Destructive Fire of the Boers 

rest. A crash of Boer artillery announced the early- 
dawn. In the darkness the trench had been con- 
structed across a gentle slope, so that guns from three 
sides could rake the position; and the defence was 
commanded by high spurs and irregular rocky emi- 
nences on the Kop itself, all of which could be reached 
without risk from the plain below, the approaches 
being entirely covered. 

Despite a heavy fog, the guns quickly found the 
range and commenced to search out every inch of the 
sorry breastwork so hurriedly constructed. And ere 
means could be taken to strengthen it, a rifle fire 
was opened by daring marksmen, who had crept up 
unseen in the fog and completely enfiladed the posi- 
tion. A few of their own shells burst near, but they 
were safely ensconced among the rocks, and faced 
them with impunity. From Taba Myama, less than 
a mile distant, the enemy was able to sustain an in- 
cessant shrapnel fire. In two hours the Boers had 
fired over a thousand projectiles against the exposed 
summit held by the thin line in khaki. The auto- 
matic 1-pounder then added to the horrors, searching 
out the trench repeatedly, and despite all efforts of 
supports, it became choked with dead and wounded. 

Attempts to strengthen the breastworks were re- 
peatedly defeated by the resolute Boer riflemen, who 
pumped their Mausers incessantly all day and forced 
every one to cover, though they were less than 500. 
But they knew the position, and thus were not so 
20 305 



In South Africa with Buller 

troubled by the fog, which completely baffled the 
British and negatived any strong artillery support 
from the batteries before Potgieter's. And when the 
fog lifted, an advanced party of infantry, moving 
down to clear a connecting nek, were exposed to a 
a rain of projectiles from a British field battery firing 
under a misapprehension, to accomplish the same 
task. 

When Warren commenced his operations Botha was 
on his way to Pretoria, and the first British success 
led the President to order him to supreme command 
on the Upper Tugela. The burghers were hard 
pressed and disorganized when he arrived, and the 
subsequent loss of Spion Kop on his right centre was 
a hard blow to his plans. But this brave young 
farmer-general, whose modesty deserves the world's 
respect and his compatriots' emulation, had rapidly 
directed operations to retrieve the loss. The mist 
favored him, and though it lifted, it soon gathered 
again. Covered by this fog, he led small parties of 
burghers to the summit and placed them in various 
points of vantage, where they could sweep the British 
exposed on the flat and lower portion of the emi- 
nence. "Despair, the last weapon that sometimes 
achieves victory," stimulated the Boers to heroic 
exertion. 

In the fog some burghers crept within two yards of 
the advanced British position; others crawled behind 
rocks, where they could enfilade the shallow trench ; 

806 



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.f. 






.^:?-:-f^% 




V 


















! 












'^ 




«^^ 




h 




r 






-i - 


'i 


I 3m," 



'.^ i 



;4 



Reinforcements scahns Spion Kop. 
i>ra«'n 6;/ Rene Bull. 



Attempt to Expel the Enemy 

then they opened simultaneously. More than half 
the soldiers had been killed or injured by shell fire, 
and the survivors were soon forced to surrender. 
Shalk Burger sent a portion of his command to the 
spurs on the far side of the Kop, and they soon assailed 
the British rear, getting splendid cover among the 
irregularities of the vast summit. 

General Woodgate was shot through the head at 
this juncture, and most of the officers had fallen, 
but a company of troops in the main position fixed 
bayonets and attempted to expel the enemy from the 
ridge that they had gained on the crest. They were 
thrice forced back with loss, however; but British 
reinforcements arrived, climbing the ascent enfiladed 
by the automatic gun. They then drove the Boer 
riflemen from their lodgment, but found it impossi- 
ble, from the formation of the ground, to get any 
cover from the shelling. 

Lyttleton's brigade strove to relieve the pressure by 
a frontal attack, the 60th Rifles gaining a footing on 
the northern spurs and the Scottish Rifles obtaining 
a ledge on the other side. They were exposed to 
severe rifle fire from the surrounding kopjes, but hung 
on tenaciously until dark. The gallantry of the reg- 
ulars was equalled by the stolid bravery of the 
burghers, who showed the courage only inspired by 
intense devotion. 

When General Coke rode out to assume command 
of the Kop, darkness had stilled several of the Boer 

307 



In South Africa with Buller 

guns, though an intermittent shelling was sustained. 
The condition of the men on the summit was des- 
perate, however. The ground was littered with 
dying and dead, the men had been without food or 
water, and were in no condition to sustain a further 
defence at daylight. Leaving Thorneycroft in 
charge. Coke rode back to confer with Warren as to 
the best means of strengthening the position, and Sir 
Charles at once arranged for artillery and engineers 
to be sent to the summit. A proper system of de- 
fence was devised, and preparations were made to 
hold the Kop at all hazards until resistance could be 
swept away on the flanks. 

Unfortunately, General Warren had remained on 
the extreme left to guide the turning movement. 
Coke took long to reach him, and ere fresh orders 
arrived, the surviving officers on the Kop held a 
council of war, at which a large majority favored evac- 
uation to save extermination at daylight. A desul- 
tory cannonade started later, giving the worn men 
no chance to eat or rest. There is also a story of a 
despatch, intended for Colonel Riddell, ordering him 
to withdraw his force, the 60th Rifles, from the ex- 
posed position where they would mask the fire of the 
British artillery. The colonel had been killed prior 
to its delivery, and Thorneycroft receiving the 
despatch, as next senior officer, applied it to the 
entire force. This incident is not mentioned in the 
reports of either Buller or Warren. The former says 

308 



Spion Kop Abandoned 

that Thorneycroft used a wise discretion, but Lord 
Roberts severely censures him for taking the initia- 
tive when he could have sent to consult Warren. 
The Divisional Commander is also blamed for remain- 
ing on the extreme flank and not visiting Spion Kop 
in person, when the entire success of the movement 
rested on its retention. 

Much may be said in Thorneycroft' s favor. His 
worn men could not face the emergency. They had 
been battered and shot at until few had escaped in- 
jury, and the nocturnal shelling started a panic which 
an order to retire alone averted. 

Carrying all the wounded, leaving the dead on the 
field, the shattered commands quietly evacuated in 
the darkness, and were returning to the main British 
line when they met Colonel Sim with the Mountain 
Battery, two naval guns, a strong force of Engineers, 
and 600 men for a working party, going up to thor- 
oughly intrench the position. Explanations followed. 
Officers on the spot had decided that the position 
was untenable in any case, and not as useful as sup- 
posed, being in turn dominated by other hills. With 
the time that elapsed to get a galloper to Warren and 
receive his reply, dawn drew near, and it was too 
late to retrieve the blunder. Certainly no one could 
accuse Thorneycroft of cowardice or lack of resolve. 
He had far more dead, and wounded men who could 
not fire a rifle, than men able to fight; few had 
escaped splinter wounds. The exposed portion of 

309 



In South Africa with Buller 

the Kop was solid rock and could not well be in- 
trenched, and he was not apprised of the reinforce- 
ments destined for him. To save his wounded, it 
was necessary that the retreat should not be delayed. 
The only surviving staff officer, General Coke's 
Brigade Major, the Colonel of the Middlesex, and 
other officers strongly protested, however, against 
withdrawal. 

The loss of Spion Kop points to the need of a 
stronger force of mountain artillery in the British 
army. Elephants have now been discarded for the 
carriage of mountain guns ; these pachyderms are too 
clumsy, at least for South African warfare, and camels 
are unsuitable. But further mule batteries will be 
very helpful for the future garrisoning, and past ex- 
perience should have taught the need of them when 
war first broke out. The home training battery, 
improperly equipped with mules, the service battery 
held in Natal, and eight batteries mobilized with the 
native artillery on the Indian frontier constitute the 
permanent establishment. Even Spain can make 
a better showing, and she has no vast extent of fron- 
tier to sustain. 

These ten batteries are manned by the garrison 
artillery, and though only men of the highest charac- 
ter and physique are detached for this service, the 
authorities have neglected nothing that could make 
mountain service distasteful. All pecuniary advan- 
tages are lost on transference; the work is much 

310 



Withdrawal Accomplished without Loss 

rougher and entails arduous marcliing, and there are 
stable duties to perform, — drawbacks which are 
entirely outside the service for which a garrison 
gunner enlists. There is the additional disadvantage 
of studying cavalry drill in riding, marching, sword, 
and carbine exercises , after learning infantry drill for 
the garrison branch. Men taken from the field bat- 
teries would be far better fitted for these duties, which 
make the mountain service distasteful to the garrison 
gunners. The Mountain Artillery should be entirely 
reorganized and strengthened. With properly 
equipped mountain batteries, the story of the Natal 
campaign would have been brighter. A mule bat- 
tery sent up with Woodgate would have done much 
to make the Kop tenable. 

The withdrawal was accomplished without the loss 
of a man, but the ambulances could not get in close, 
and many wounded were not moved from the vicinity 
until the next day. A prejudiced writer could fill a 
chapter of incidents which would either prove the 
Boer a barbarian or a saint. Evidently the burghers 
vary greatly. Many of the dead were found with 
fingers hacked off for rings, a few abandoned wounded 
were robbed, and some murdered in cold blood. Yet 
Boers with tear-streaming faces gazed on the shat- 
tered bodies rent and mutilated by bursting shell, and 
many showed kindness to the wounded. 

The retirement was a heart-breaking experience 
for the British. It seemed that the precious lives 

311 



In South Africa with Buller 

had been uselessly expended. For once Tommy- 
was depressed, and his curious mixture of gaiety and 
serious determination became blended with a surly 
moroseness. Truly the companies on the Kop were 
heroes, and had fought to a clean knock-out. Yet 
there were hundreds of fresh soldiers ready to take 
their place, and in the end they might have licked 
the Boers. The " swaddy " is a clear reasoner, and if 
he expressed his disgust at the whole operation in 
unparliamentary language, who shall blame him? 
He knew his peccare in hello non licet, and here twice 
was the British army checked by an army of farmers. 
The famished garrison in Ladysmith, so eagerly 
waiting for relief, were naturally despondent at this 
second failure, and the men who had long combated 
disease, wishing to keep off sick report to the end, 
could control themselves no longer, and the hospitals 
received a great influx of patients who had buoyed 
themselves up with a hope which long deferred made 
heart and body sick. 

Buller now withdrew his forces across the Tugela, 
and the army had a week's rest. Spirits and resolu- 
tion were alike restored in the interval. Three thou- 
sand reinforcements arrived opportunely to replace 
casualties. With them came a horse battery and 
more cavalry, and no one doubted the success of the 
third attempt to cut a passage. 

On Saturday, February 3d, the heavy guns were 
312 



Guns Hoisted on Swartz Kop 

hoisted to the highest point of Swartz Kop, from 
which the guns the Boers had rapidly mounted on 
Spion Kop and Doom Kloof were outranged. The 
artillery also had clear play on the frontal ridges of 
Brakfontein, and for once the British gunners an- 
swered the Boers on equal terms and showed Preto- 
rius, in keen duels, that under such conditions his 
fine shooting could be matched if not surpassed, while 
the maximum of bursts was greater than with the 
Boers. But the effect of lyddite on the massive de- 
fences was trivial, and unless a shell exploded right 
in a trench the splinter-proofs sheltered the Boers 
from harm. 

For the third attempt to pierce the line of rock, 
steel, and brawn that barred the Ladysmith Road, 
Buller decided to make Vaal Krantz his objective. 
This position runs almost at right angles to and 
east of Brakfontein, and its capture, it was thought, 
would enable a wedge to be driven from ridge to ridge 
until the reverse of the frontal position was assailed. 
A frontal attack pressed home at that juncture would 
crumble the defence of the line and open a wide gap 
to relieve White. 

On Monday, February 5th, the advance began, the 
augmented cavalry division being divided. Colonel 
Burn Murdoch taking the 1st Brigade (regulars), 
Lord Dundonald retaining his Colonials. Covered by 
a terrific bombardment. Colonel Wynne led forward 
Woodgate's old brigade against the centre to cover 

313 



In South Africa with Buller 

the assault on the Krantz. For a time the Boers 
held their fire, but the infantry finally unmasked their 
guns, allowing a steady artillery duel, when their 
splendid gun pits alone kept their pieces in action. 
Shell after shell fell right against the epaulments, but 
failed to silence the guns. 

The long grass on the hillside was speedily lit by 
shrapnel, but the war balloon, ascending high above 
the smoke, carefully located the Boer trenches, and 
by telegraph the positions were so dusted out with 
shrapnel from the concentrated field batteries that the 
rifle fire in the main position was practically silenced. 
A shell from the Vickers Maxim managed to reach 
the balloon, however, and temporarily ended its 
usefulness. 

Covered by this assault, the Engineers bridged the 
Tugela lower down, at the dangerous Hunger's 
Drift in direct line for Vaal Krantz, and half of 
Lyttleton's Light Brigade was over the river ere the 
flanking movement was discovered. But the ubiqui- 
tous burghers were soon in force, their guns were 
slewed round to meet the new attack, and the final 
movement was anticipated. But the regiments de- 
ployed along the river bank, and after a brief delay, 
during which the infantry and batteries covering the 
feint against the front were skilfully withdrawn 
under a heavy fire and the artillery diverted to the 
flank, the word was passed to fix bayonets and 
charge. 

314 



Men of the Two Armies Respect each Other 

Covered by a shower of shrapnel, the Light Infan- 
try sprang forward from their shelter at a note of the 
bugle, and went straight against Vaal Krantz. In 
vain the burghers strove to stem the rush, and leaned 
over the berm of the leading trench to fire at their 
assailants crawling up the steep ascent. The British 
drew closer and closer, and ere they saw the glitter 
of the dreaded bayonets, the defenders fled panic- 
stricken, though the leading company of the Dur- 
hams caught a number as they ran and cut through 
them, capturing many who surrendered. 

Ferocity stirred by war develops harsh brutality in 
many natures, and to the credit of the British soldier 
stands the number of prisoners taken during charges, 
when passions are heated and excitement impels. It 
is poor consolation to see a comrade fall by your 
side, and as revenge tightens your heart-strings and 
you prepare for vengeance, to find his executioner 
throw his hands up and be obliged to hold him 
guiltless. 

And in these captured trenches unselfish Tommy 
sat with the shaggy heads of Boer wounded in his lap, 
giving up his scanty share of water. The fury of 
combat and thirst for reprisal was softened by pity even 
for a wounded and very dirty enemy. Common 
suffering knit a curious bond of sympathy between 
the wounded of the two races who were treated side 
by side. Even the fighting men of the two armies 
learned to respect each other. The Boer farmers 

315 



In South Africa with Buller 

were the prey of rumors foisted by Kruger, and whicli 
they could neither disbelieve nor examine; and it 
will be well if allowance is made for this in the set- 
tlement. There is no reason why the Boer cannot 
make an excellent British Afrikander if his confi- 
dence is fostered after his respect has been forced. 
With tactful administration, I do not believe that 
they will hate the British for generations. For ten 
years all that is progressive in the Transvaal has 
been advancement on British lines, and despite the 
efforts of irreconcilables, the present generation of 
Dutch South Africans has been greatly influenced 
by English manners, customs, dress, and, in part, 
language. 

Afrikander South Africa has not the foundation 
upon which successful nations must be reared; the 
fundamental principles of liberty and democracy are 
wanting. But if the Boer has hated the British 
unjustly, misstatement has not all been on his side, 
and the better understanding of the races will be pro- 
ductive of future good. 

The capture of Vaal Krantz accomplished, a gen- 
eral concentration of guns was made, that the wedge 
of troops might be pressed further in. But again the 
configuration of Natal foiled a most able plan. Like 
most eminences in South Africa, the Krantz had a 
difficult face to assail, and it was found impossible 
to place artillery on the summit, but it sloped down 
gently on the reverse, and could be swept by Boers 

316 



Vaal Krantz Captured 

with gun and rifle. It did not extend far enough to 
cut into Brakfontein, as desired. A deep donga 
also enabled the Boer riflemen to advance within 
effective range, covered by their guns on the sur- 
rounding heights; and though ten thousand men 
might have carried out the movement, the risk of 
failure and the heavy loss that must be entailed 
without artillery support did not justify a further 
movement. 

Despite the agreement, a number of armed Kaffirs 
were seen with the Boers, and from armed blacks dead 
in the trenches and native deserters who came in with 
arms, it was evident that the need for men had over- 
come other scruples in impressing the natives. The 
burghers ranged from old men to beardless boys, who 
had gladly joined to drive out the reds. Comman- 
deering had pressed heavily on a willing people, and 
still more men were required. But this can hardly 
excuse the enrolment of blacks, and had England 
said the word in reprisal, her battles in her invaded 
territory would have been ended, and the Boers must 
have hurried to protect their homes from hordes of 
chafing Basutos, Zulus, Bechuanas, and Matabili, 
eager to wipe off old scores and only too willing to 
again taste the blood that had been withheld by the 
strong hand of the White Queen Mother. 

As Lyttleton's brigade held to the captured posi- 
tion, a Boer ambulance drove quietly over the plain, 
a Red Cross flag flapping proudly. It reached a 

317 



In South Africa with Buller 

ridge a mile beyond, and coolly and in clear view un- 
shipped a Vickers Maxim, just out of rifle range. 
Rocks were piled up before it, and soon the demoral- 
izing shells came buzzing over the British trenches. 
An individual rifle fire from the donga also tried the 
troops severely, and they were unable to leave the 
trenches for food or water. Until the second evening 
they held out, suffering terrible privations. After 
sunset Lyttleton quietly evacuated, and Hildyard re- 
placed him with the West and East Surrey and the 
West Yorks. 

Counting on the fatigue and demoralization of the 
British after long exposure, the Boers gathered in 
force to surprise and recapture the position. Crawl- 
ing up the donga, they were able to form an extended 
line, and almost gain the crest before the outposts 
discovered them. But they found fresh troops await- 
ing them in the trenches, and were driven back with 
heavy loss. Hildyard then maintained his position 
with ease, while the cavalry scouted in every direc- 
tion with the hope of finding a weak spot assailable 
from the Krantz. 

Hart's Irish demanded that they should be allowed 
to retrieve the disaster of Spion Kop, by attempting 
its recapture on the 7th, pointing out that with the 
occupancy of the Krantz the Boer forces could not be 
concentrated. But after a council of war all attempts 
to force the line on the west were discarded as im- 
practicable, and by midday on the 8th the entire army 

318 



Old Quarters Reoccupied 

was again south of the Tugela, wending its way back 
to railhead at Chieveley. On Sunday, February 11, 
the old camping-ground before Colenso was reoccu- 
pied, and hapless Ladysmith settled down in despair 
to further fight starvation and disease. 



319 



CHAPTER XI 

A Battle of Fourteen Days and Nights. — Capture 
OF Pieter's. — Majuba Day. — Ladysmith Relieved. — 
Horrors op the Siege. 

General Clery had been wounded and injured 
in the previous operations, and was forced to relin- 
quish his division to Lyttleton. This necessitated 
some alteration in commands, but BuUer, after a few 
hours' supervision at Chieveley, and without waiting 
for sleep, made a reconnaissance toward Hlangwane, 
the possibilities and inducements of which had been 
hitherto overlooked. His light force was greeted by 
a warm fire, which enabled the British to locate the 
guns and their position to a nicety. The Colonials 
and artillery were followed up on retirement, and 
were forced to fight their way clear. 

The map of this position proved misleading ; Hlang- 
wane was one of a series of hills all strongly occu- 
pied, though the capture of any one of them would 
in a measure render the others untenable. Buller 
realized now that he must risk all for a final attempt: 
hard as were the conditions that he had to face, a 
fourth repulse would mean his recall. The soldiers 
still had confidence in him, and his failures could 

320 



Army Moves Eastward 

hardly be designated defeats ; but public opinion was 
adverse — Sir Redvers became " Sir Reverse" alias the 
"Tugela Ferryman," and hostile powers pointed a 
finger of scorn at the baffled British army. 

On February 14th the army moved eastward toward 
Hlangwane. The advanced Boer works rested on 
Huzzar Hill, extending along the irregular spurs and 
foothills on either side. Mount Cingolo and Monte 
Cristo, succeeding eminences, were also strongly 
occupied, besides Hlangwane, the main position, with 
its defended lines of communication extending across 
the river. Huzzar Hill became BuUer's first objec- 
tive. Hildyard and Norcott made a night march 
and gained positions on the extreme right of the posi- 
tion. Coke and Wynne led their brigades against 
the centre, and Barton assailed the left. 

Three new 4.7 guns and one 6-inch gun, which had 
been sent up from the fleet, accomplished some very 
effective shelling from Colenso. This combined fire, 
supplementing the field batteries, shook the Boer 
position severely; but the burghers held their reply 
for three hours, allowing the British lines to ad- 
vance within effective range before they opened. 
Then, in repetition of Colenso tactics, they loosed 
their entire force. Six guns, including two heavy 
Creusots on the hills in rear, and numerous auto- 
matic and machine guns, besides successive rows of 
riflemen intrenched on Huzzar Hill and spurs, swept 
every inch of the advance. 
21 321 



In South Africa with Buller 

But anticipation is a great power. This outburst 
was no surprise ; the troops were prepared for it, and 
as the positions were unmasked the infantry clung to 
cover, and a howitzer and seven field batteries, held 
out of rifle range, drove in the advanced lines, while 
the naval guns pounded the artillery to silence at 
extreme range. And ere the burghers had recovered 
from the demoralization of the effective shelling, the 
infantry crawled through the brush, and stormed 
Huzzar Hill with the bayonet. 

The battle now evolved new tactics for overcoming 
the resistance of an intrenched enemy. Previous 
reverse had proved the impracticability of sustaining 
assaults on successive positions, against an intrenched 
foe with modern arms and smokeless powder. De- 
spite effective artillery preparation, operations against 
bomb-proof trenches are too hazardous and costly to 
be long sustained, and it is seldom that an attack 
according to the present text-book can succeed. 

Counter trenching is now the laborious but only 
method of overcoming strong field defence. Siege 
tactics must be applied, counter positions being main- 
tained, and extended gradually forward until the 
enemy is driven from his trenches. This necessi- 
tates a large force of sappers, or, better yet, the 
employment of infantry to throw up their own de- 
fences. The United States troops with mess tins 
and tomato cans threw up crude earthworks before 
Santiago that saved hundreds of lives. The British 

322 



Huzzar Hill Occupied 

soldier, relying on the Engineers, who are not always 
available, has not emulated his American cousin in 
arms, in the matter of hurried intrenchments, and 
frequently both Engineers and soldiers have suffered 
severely; while the former built defences, the latter 
fired from exposed positions, unable to aid in intrench- 
ing, through lack of utensils or implements. 

The spades issued experimentally as part of the sol- 
dier's equipment found disfavor because of the addi- 
tional weight for marching. A number of such 
implements would not prove difficult for transporta- 
tion in bulk. They could be distributed to the lead- 
ing companies at the front, and carried into action 
in a frog, without greatly impeding the soldier, and 
would prove invaluable. The new steam sapper, 
that cuts out trenches in face of a deadly fire, will 
revolutionize field intrenching when it is further 
perfected. 

Huzzar Hill was occupied in force during the night, 
the naval guns being placed in position, protected 
by sand-bags, and in a few hours the eminence was a 
fortress that could have defied the entire Boer army. 
From its summit a terrific artillery duel raged with 
cleverly screened Boer guns on Hlangwane. The 
cavalry skirmished on the flanks, and cleared Boer 
guerrillas from the trees, though several officers fell 
victims to these sharpshooters. 

Despite the scouting, however, a strong commando 
managed to ddtour and sweep in between the pickets 

323 



In South Africa with Buller 

and the main position, masking the British artillery 
with British outposts. Used to riding across coun- 
try in the darkness, the burghers captured a few 
sentries, and rode away from the strong party sent to 
cut them off. 

Buller' s entire force advanced on the 17th, the 
troops, in continuous line, sweeping forward from 
ridge to ridge against Cingolo, while the cavalry 
worked round the extreme flank unseen. The Boers 
made a stout resistance, and the Queen's suffered 
severely during the frontal attack. But the cavalry 
suddenly rode hard against the reverse of the position, 
dismounted, and clambered up, carbine in hand, tak- 
ing the Boers in rear. Finding the British upon 
them, the burghers evacuated, escaping by the con- 
necting nek to Monte Cristo as the troopers charged. 
By sunset Cingolo was cleared of the enemy, guns 
were in position, and the early relief of Ladysmith 
seemed again within the bounds of reason. 

All day on Sunday, 18th, the guns pounded Monte 
Cristo and Hlangwane at a close and effective range, 
and before night the resistance on Monte Cristo had 
been subdued. The infantry then closed in on either 
flank, gaining the eminence with little loss. 

With Monte Cristo held, Hlangwane could not be 
long defended. After a few hours' rest, the tireless 
British again fought their way forward, the Fusilier 
brigade and Thorneycroft's irregulars sweeping over 
the outlying spurs, and storming the summit of the 

324 



British Flag Raised 

main position while the Boers were preparing break- 
fast. The burghers fled in confusion; the laagers 
were captured intact, with the entire camp equip- 
ment and tons of ammunition. But the guns had 
been mysteriously spirited away, having been moved 
out of range in the darkness and hauled over the 
drift during the morning. 

The Transvaal flag waved over Breytenbach's 
abandoned laager and fell trophy to the colonials, 
and amid loud cheers the British flag proclaimed 
from the summit that the enemy had been driven 
beyond the Tugela, leaving their strong but filthy 
camps behind them. 

The capture of the Boer left has a moral. It 
seems that many colonials who knew the district well 
had advocated a movement against Hlangwane at 
the outset. They had been well snubbed for their 
pains in pointing out the advantages of the position 
which, after weeks of delay and costly fighting, was 
finally chosen, and with success, to turn the enemy's 
line. 

Though Botha clung desperately to Fort Wylie 
and the positions before Colenso, the naval guns on 
Huzzar Hill soon told him that the line he had 
striven so manfully to sustain must give way at last. 
The Dublin Fusiliers reoccupied Colenso village 
after fifteen weeks' absence, and as the burghers 
pressed down to the river, in face of a heavy shell- 
ing, to hold the main drifts, the Engineers had 

325 



In South Africa with Buller 

pressed forward on the right before Hlangwane, 
and threw a pontoon across the river there. On the 
21st three brigades crossed to the north bank of 
tlie Tugela. The passage was hotly contested, but 
Coke's brigade swept forward, and moving against 
the Boer flank forced the commandoes to withdraw 
from the fort and kopjes before Colenso, the Som- 
erset Light Infantry losing 100 men during the 
operation. 

Botha now rallied his forces for a final stand on the 
higher eminences of Grobler's Kloof and Pieter's 
Hill, but by the evening of the 22d, three brigades 
— the 4th, 6th, and 11th — had bivouacked before 
the position, prepared to make the final stroke in a 
battle that had raged continuously for eight days and 
nights. 

The foreign contingents now dribbled away before 
the continued British attack. " They were not greatly 
missed," Botha grimly reported. An alien company 
that had attracted some attention was a Russo-Franco 
entente cordiale, — the Corps of "la Belle Otero," com- 
manded by a cashiered Russian officer, who had lost 
money and honor when a satellite of that brilliant 
lady in Paris. Abandoned for a more affluent lover, 
he had marched forth to fight for liberty, sheltering 
the sacred name under the notoriety of the fickle 
Andalusianne. The simple burghers knew nothing 
of this dancer, and the Otero contingent had their 
implicit confidence, though it left them to their own 

326 



Position of Boers 

devices at Pieter's. Later these foreign lovers of 
liberty sent in their bill for personal services to 
President Kruger, and found that his promises were 
violable, though backed by quotations from the Bible ; 
and after weeks of arduous service they found them- 
selves with no share in the Rand gold that had fired 
their ardor for upholding the rights of the Boers. 

Botha, Burgers, and Meyer concentrated their 
strength, however, on the main eminences, and made 
a stupendous resistance. From the ring of hills 
around Ladysmith down to the river bend is one 
succession of kopjes, seams, and wooded dongas, with 
steep and mountainous kops blocking the way, ex- 
tending across Onderbrook to Pieter's. After cross- 
ing the Tugela at Colenso, where it suddenly flows 
due north, the railroad runs parallel to the river 
toward Ladysmith, with hills on either flank. When 
the Tugela again bends eastward, the railroad runs 
on through a steep ravine into Pieter's Station. The 
final Boer line extended across Grobler's Kloof over 
the heights before Pieter's, and small companies were 
extended to delay every step of the advance through 
the broken country, chiefly along the railroad line. 

For a distance of four square miles the British 
fought their way onward, harassed by sharpshooters 
and detachments that lurked in the rocks, and am- 
bushed from the dongas and brush. By midday, on 
the 23d, after a night and morning of continuous 
fighting, the Lancashire Brigade, with Hildyard's 

327 



In South Africa with Buller 

regiments and the Rifles, had forced their way be- 
tween Grobler's and Pieter's at great cost. They soon 
proved the impossibility of forcing a road directly 
through such a country. 

While his left centre hung on before Grobler's, 
Buller determined to throw his right forward toward 
Ladysmith, round the Boer left. But the burghers 
were concentrated on the eminences before Pieter's, 
and from the left of their line could command any 
turning movement in the plain below, with rifles and 
artillery. It was necessary, therefore, for a suc- 
cessful advance, to clear the enemy from the hills 
on the eastern end of his line, where it rested on 
three eminences that dominate the railroad before 
Pieter's Station. The Irish were ordered to advance 
up the track and along the river bank, to seize the 
foothills at the river bend where the Tugela and 
the railroad part company, and endeavor to oust the 
Boers from the hills east of the line, which is here 
built through a deep ravine. 

In face of a terrific fire the Inniskillings seized a 
kopje at the foot of their objective, where they were 
strongly supported by the Dublins and Rangers, and 
part of Colonel Norcott's Light Infantry. The honor 
of the dsij was intrusted to Colonel Thackeray. It 
was one hour before sunset when the first advantage 
was won, and he determined to rush the position 
before dark, hoping to intrench during the night, 
when the hill could be permanently held. 

328 



An Armistice Arranged 

The sontliern half of the eminence was stormed in 
magnificent style by the Inniskillings, and, supported 
by companies of the Dublins and Rangers, they strove 
to clear the entire crest along which successive Boer 
intrenchments were cut and strengthened by stone 
breastworks. 

With amazing tenacity the Boers held to cover, 
blazing away from their trenches on the higher por- 
tions of the ridge, until the Inniskillings were 
practically exterminated. When darkness fell the 
survivors threw up a rude breastwork of rocks, but 
lay exposed to fire from both flanks during the entire 
night. Reinforcements went forward at daylight, 
but the British could advance no farther, and the 
order was given to withdraw, an armistice being 
arranged to bury the dead and gather the wounded. 
When the Inniskillings were extricated, three suc- 
cessive commanding officers lay dead on the field. 
Corporals brought back shattered companies; and 
when roll was called one officer and forty-three men 
answered for the battalion that had gone in 500 
strong. 

But while the gallant Irish had held their ground 
at such appalling cost, BuUer had been preparing for 
a skilful movement on the extreme right. Already 
Boer deserters came in with stories of demoralization. 
Lines of wagons were reported moving back toward 
the Drakensberg, and Ladysmith heliographed that 
there was every indication that the Boers were pre- 

329 



In South Africa with Buller 

paring for a general retirement. During the armis- 
tice, while Buller again withdrew his troops south of 
the Tugela, the laagers were being broken up and 
the disheartened commandoes decided that they could 
never withstand another attack. 

On the 26th the general British retirement was 
apparent, and inspirited them for fresh efforts. They 
remounted their guns and remanned the trenches. 
But Buller gave them no rest. He moved his entii'e 
force back to Hlangwane, and then advanced across 
the river, due northwest from that position. Cov- 
ered by an effective bombardment the three brigades 
crossed the pontoons safely, and moved slightly to 
the north, against the hills before Pieter's. Barton 
closed in first. General Wynne, wounded, was suc- 
ceeded by Colonel Kitchener, the Sidar's brother, 
who led his brigade after Barton; Colonel Norcott 
with his regiments was on the flank. 

The Scots Fusiliers stormed the farthest mount of 
the triple position. Kitchener then loosed his bri- 
gade, and the Lancashires and Yorks climbed over 
the low foothills, two battalions remaining sheltered 
beside the railroad to turn the flank. Finally these 
brigades, taking advantage of every inch of cover, 
reached the skyline of the hill beside the tracks, and 
taking the Boer trenches in flank they drove the 
enemy to the further spurs of the position. Colonel 
Norcott then closed in, the Eifles and East Surrey 
clambering up the southern and eastern slopes of the 

330 




Th^ aftehmath op Pibter's Hill. 
From a sketch by a naval officer. 



Majuba Day 

triplicated eminence, and finally forcing the Boers 
from the summit. 

While speaking of these positions in Natal it may- 
be as well to call attention to the vast size and 
irregularity of these South African kops. The 
seams, ridges, and chasms, and the neks connecting 
one hill with another, make the summits formidable 
battle-fields on which entire divisions can be ma- 
noeuvred, or a Waterloo fought. 

For hours the fighting raged fiercely; every foot 
of ground was hotly contested, and many fierce 
struggles were waged ere the burghers were cleared 
from the outlying spurs. Briton and Boer proved 
their bravery a hundredfold, and over 100 bodies of 
the latter were collected and buried by the British, 
whose losses were also very heavy. 

It was Majuba Day, — an anniversary that in future 
will be celebrated by the Boers with sackcloth and 
ashes. Driven from the railroad, with the hills be- 
fore Pieter's lost, Botha could no longer hold 
Grobler's. A fairly open plain led up to Bulwhana, 
and beyond was Ladysmith. Their strong line 
was broken through at last, and the commandoes 
mounted and retired sullenly, sadder and perhaps 
wiser men. 

Checked by weak rear guards, the main column was 
soon at Nelthorpe, the cavalry forcing the Boer de- 
tachments back and capturing some belated wagons. 
Captain Gough of the 16th Lancers, with troops of 

331 



In South Africa with Buller 

Light Horse and Carbineers, followed closely by Lord 
Dundonald with the Colonial Cavalry, ddtoured to 
the west, driving the Boers from an isolated laager. 

In the gathering darkness a plateau loomed before 
them. A camp-fire gleamed fitfully, and an outpost 
challenged. 

"Halt! Who goes there?" 

"The Ladysmith relieving column! " 

The ragged, emaciated British outpost gave a 
quavering cheer. Then discipline had its way, the 
guard turned out and presented arms. The troopers 
pressed on, and the bearded " Tommies " leaned 
wearily on their rifles and cried, from the effect of 
sheer excitement on their weakened constitutions. 

"Halt! Who goes there?" from the main guard. 

" The relieving column ! " 

Cyclists had scorched into the famished city by 
this time with the news, the gunners fired two signal 
rockets, and men, women, and children loosed their 
emotions, pent up by one hundred and twenty weary 
days and nights of siege, pestilence, and starvation, 
and rushed forth to greet their deliverers. 

The prolonged siege had pinched Ladysmith to the 
last extremity. After the disaster at Spion Kop 
despondency had seized the plucky garrison. Food 
was then terribly scarce. The continuous shelling 
of the small city had proved trying to soldiers and 
civilians; but it was the women and children who 
suffered most. Over two hundred little ones were 

332 



Starvation in Native Quarter 

shut within the ring of cannon. By day they were 
forced to hide in bomb-proofs; by night few dared 
undress, for at some hour the alarm would sound 
at the flash of a Boer gun, and they were forced 
to fly through the night to again take refuge until 
the flight of projectiles abated. These shelters after 
heavy rains were frequently half filled with mud and 
water, in which they must perforce stand for hours 
together. 

The garrison was ragged, shoeless, and hungry. 
Meat soon disappeared. Unfortunately, few vegeta- 
bles had been planted in the vicinity; even Kaffir 
mealies grew terribly scarce, and the starving horses 
and mules soon became the staple diet. Disease 
grew apace. The neutral civilian hospital camp was 
overflowing, and 181 officers and 4,833 soldiers had 
passed through the hospital during the first nine 
weeks' siege. These figures were doubled during 
the final eight weeks and the proportion of deaths 
grew larger. 

In the native quarter there was real starvation, for 
though the unfortunate people crowded in by the 
Boers to help eat out the town, received regulation 
allowance, the same as every soldier of the line, mark 
you, the unfortunate Hindoos preferred to die rather 
than risk damnation by eating cow's meat; and curi- 
ously their scruples were extended to horse flesh, 
though some votaries finally accepted this ration in 

last extremity. 

333 



In South Africa with Buller 

The considerate treatment of natives at all besieged 
towns in South Africa should silence those who speak 
of British injustice to inferior races. The godly 
Boers impressed Kaffirs as slaves at all points, and 
when rations were short allowed them to abjectly 
starve. 

Colonel Ward had to provide for 16,000 Euro- 
peans, most of whom were in regular or volunteer ser- 
vice, though 2000 old men, women, and children were 
on the "inutile" list. There were also 2,240 Kaffirs 
and 2,460 Hindoos in the city. Even on restricted 
rations this vast number of people soon ate up 
available supplies. But necessity fosters invention. 
Tons of carcass were daily buried beyond the town: 
the horses and mules grew so thin that little meat 
could be cut from them. Then Lieutenant McNalty 
of the Supply conferred with Colonel Ward, the Com- 
missariat General, and after many experiments pure 
essence of horse was concocted, the locomotive house 
being improvised as a factory. The animals were 
shot at one end, emerging from the front door in jars 
and bottles labelled CHEVRIL. This horse-extract, 
trade-marked " Resurgam" and issued under the code- 
signal appellation of Colonel Ward, caused hearty 
laughs where merriment was scarce, and provided a 
nourishing liquid food for the besieged, who declared 
it outri vailed Bovril. 

Rice-powder for the face, bran, bird-seed, and 
washing-starch were taken from the stores and con- 

334 



Relief Becomes an Accomplished Fact 

verted into food. A plague of locusts happening in 
the outskirts proved a three-day feast to the blacks, 
who gathered them in thousands and found them a 
palatable dish, though the wild honey was lacking. 
But still, people were hungry. 

Water was a serious question. Wood was too 
scarce for continual fires for boiling, and eau de Klif 
River, seasoned by dead horses and Kaffirs which 
the Boers tumbled regularly into the stream to be 
washed down toward the city, was neither tempting 
nor healthful. 

BuUer's guns sounded wondrous close during the 
first attack before Pieter's. Then again they died 
away in the distance. But despondency was turned 
to hope when the Boers were seen hurriedly inspan- 
ning their teams and removing their guns. The 
naval gunners drew heavily on their scanty store to 
sustain farewells to the last, and then a thunder of 
battle drawing closer and closer gave the reason of 
the Boer retirement. 

But the north of the town was strongly invested, 
and the end was not speedily expected until the 
slouch hats of the Colonials were seen approaching, 
and relief became an accomplished fact. 

The eager townsfolk raced madly out to greet their 
deliverers. Their number was swelled by the soldiers 
off duty. Strong men clung to Dundonald's battle- 
scarred troopers weeping like children, women kissed 
their deliverers hysterically, or thrust their children 

335 



In South Africa with Buller 

on the saddles of the Colonials. Then the bugles 
sounded at headquarters, and General White and 
his staif rode into the Market Square to greet the 
relief. 

The starved, fever-stricken, ragged garrison, the 
no less emaciated townfolk crowded round. There 
was dead silence as General and Earl grasped hands. 
Then with a voice thick with emotion. White turned, 
pointed eloquently to the British flag, and lifted his 
hat. 

" Three cheers for her Majesty the Queen ! " 

The band was formed by the well musicians from 
various regiments — the voices were weak, and quav- 
ered discordantly at the prolonged notes ; but when 
the cheers had subsided, the strains of "God save the 
Queen " went up from the community gathered in 
the battered, stricken town ; and no tribute more sig- 
nificant or touching has been tendered the aged sov- 
ereign Victoria, unless it were the National Anthem 
that rose from the survivors of Lucknow when the 
skirl of the Campbells' pipes announced Havelock's 
advent, or the strains of that simple but inspiring 
melody sung by Major Wilson and his command as 
they were slowly massacred on the Shangani. 

White's speech in response to the cheers they gave 
him is characteristic : " Thank God we kept the flag 
flying." 

Two days later General Buller entered at the head 
of his column. The garrison lined up to greet the 

336 



Buller Enters at Head of Column 

Field Force, but were obliged to sit at the roadside 
through sheer weakness long ere the cheering regi- 
ments wended their way into the city that they had 
fought so hard to relieve. And when the "dismiss " 
rang out what scenes there were ! " Townies " found 
each other, comrades were reunited, and in a few 
hours refugees who had fled down country were 
back, some to find members of their family dead, 
others to meet husband, father, or brother, and reoc- 
cupy the little Natal home, — pretty, aye, and home, 
despite the gaping shell-holes and surrounding ruin. 

Before the column came in Captain Denny had 
brought up wagon-loads of provisions, but with char- 
acteristic stolidity the British soldier and civilian 
bore their hunger a few hours longer to be in line 
to greet Buller. The ceremony over, nature asserted 
her sway, and there was an eager rush for simple 
luxuries that are prized only after want. 

Colonel Morgan brought up the main supply- 
column soon after, tons of extras sent from distant 
friends were distributed, and every one ate, drank, 
and was merry. Buller's force had little time for jol- 
lification, however. Brother Boer was still hovering 
in the passes, and divisions were moved forward with 
little delay to take up positions that would keep him 
out of Natal. 

Officers now saw the reverse of the positions that 
they had attempted to storm, and no longer won- 
dered at reverse. Natural strength apart, the lines 
22 337 



In South Africa with Buller 

of defence were massive, and incredible. Nature, 
Boer subtlety, and the brains trained in European mil- 
itary schools had combined to erect the strongest 
position recorded in history. The relief of Lady- 
smith was a stupendous feat, and though the popular 
idol of the hour, Lord Roberts, is reaping most of 
the credit with the deserved praise for his own suc- 
cess, history will record in Buller's favor. 

Remember, Buller's fiercest fighting took place on 
Majuba day, the day that Cronje surrendered and 
the capture of Bloemfontein appeared imminent. 
Adverse war news travels slowly from Pretoria. 
Pieter's was half won when the news of Bobs' suc- 
cess was flashed from Cape Town to Buller. It took 
far longer to reach the Boers. Despite a tolerable 
veracity in their war news, the officials at Pretoria 
naturally took no steps to dishearten their hardly 
pressed forces in Natal, and Buller had won and the 
burghers were in full retreat, ere the story of univer- 
sal disaster in the Free State reached them. 

The news turned their withdrawal into a panic, 
and so hastened their movements that Buller was 
unable to follow up his victory by making a retreat 
a rout. But the Natal Field Force relieved Lady- 
smith, and to them is the credit due. 



338 



CHAPTER XII 

An unexpected Conclusion. — Relief of Kimberley. — 
Capture op Cronje. — Collapse of the Boer Army. 

— Roberts' March on Pretoria. — Capture of Bloem- 
fontein. — Kroonstad and Lindley occupied. — In- 
vasion op the Transvaal. — The Sherman of 1900. — 
Capitulation of Pretoria. — The Cost of the War. 

— Conclusion. 

History has been smoothly and rapidly made dur- 
ing the past nine weeks. When I left South Africa 
Roberts was formulating an advance north that was 
expected to provide ample material for a second 
volume. Judging by early Boer resistance, there 
seemed abundant time to -recuperate by a trip to New 
York, and to return to the front ere the British army 
commenced to hammer at Pretoria's gates. The 
natural fortresses of northern Natal and on the 
Transvaal borders contributed conditions by which 
the Boers could greatly prolong the agony that they 
had inflicted on Buller's column. After the relief 
of Ladysmith, they would in reality be fighting for 
their hearths and homes, and thus I deemed that their 
past resolution in the invaded country would be in- 
creased tenfold on the Transvaal borders. 

Austria was forced to send 260,000 men against 
55,000 Bosniacs twenty-one years ago. The Bosniacs 

339 



In South Africa with Buller 

were indifferently armed ; they had neither resources 
like the Boers nor modern rifles and cannon. Austria 
could draw her supplies at hand, and England was 
thousands of miles from her main base. In Cuba 
25,000 poorly armed and half -starved insurgents 
defied 260,000 Spaniards in that narrow island for 
three years, when intervention stayed the struggle. 
In 1870, during the invasion of France, Germany was 
forced to keep 160,000 men employed on the flanks 
and line of communications in a practically open coun- 
try. With a foe as mobile and resolute as the Boers, 
and a country so favorable to their tactics, Roberts' 
advance to Pretoria we thought would be through a 
sea of blood, with communications notated with dis- 
aster and interruption. 

Roberts' successful march omens well for the future. 
It proves above all things that the burghers were led 
into the war in an excess of religious fervor, buoyed 
by a sense of their invincibility. The awakening 
was sudden — they were amazed at their temerity and 
dazed with its effect, when the vast strength and re- 
source of the despised England was revealed. Their 
early success was a proof of Divine favor; when the 
tide of victory turned they became the prey of doubts 
and fears, and their system of collective individuality 
went to pieces. 

But the British must not hurrah too loudly ere 
they are out of the wood. The promises by Kruger 
and Steyn of foreign intervention, their assurance 

340 



Roberts' Successful March 

that Russia had seized India, that the United 
States would repeat its Venezuelan attitude regard- 
ing the republics, had little effect, and I am as- 
sured that most of the burghers would return quietly 
to their farms, were they apprised of considerate 
treatment. But the Boer is credulous to a fault. 
Wounded burghers have recently been overtaken, 
crawling over the burning veldt to escape the bar- 
barous rooineks. They believe to-day that Judge 
Koch was left to die of hunger outside Ladysmith, 
though his wife is with him while he convalesces in 
practical freedom at Cape Town. They have been 
misled by the wilful lies of their precious Presidents 
until it is quite possible that they will yet cause 
grave trouble, and sustain a severe campaign in 
their mountain fastnesses. The duration of this 
will depend entirely on the quality and quantity 
of the reports that are allowed to reach them from 
the burghers who have already surrendered. It is 
significant also that the Boer can make and break 
most solemn oaths of allegiance with utmost ease, 
and entire subjugation may be a matter of time and 
difficulty. 

Roberts' advance has abounded in picturesque 
detail; the thoroughness of his plans and the preci- 
sion of his movements have overawed the Boer power 
of resistance at every point, and forced them to make 
one of the most masterly retreats in history. I do 
not purpose following his movements in extenso, for 

341 



In South Africa with Buller 

his operations are of interest rather to the strategist 
than to the general reader. 

After perfecting details of his campaign in Cape 
Town, Lord Eoberts arrived at Modder River on Feb- 
ruary 10th and issued orders for the general advance. 
For two months little had been accomplished on the 
Free State border. But reinforcements had been sent 
up, and divisions mobilized until the command at his 
disposal amounted to 45,000 men. Gatacre, Mac- 
donald, Babington, and French had been demonstrat- 
ing and raiding into the annexed districts, but on the 
12th the Boers showed in great force before Rensburg, 
and the British were forced to fall back from Coleskop. 
But covered by this Boer success, French made a 
forced march and seized Dekiel's Drift. On the fol- 
lowing day the 6th and 7th Divisions crossed the ford 
and drove the Boers from their positions on the Riet 
River. 

While the main commandoes were celebrating their 
capture of Rensburg, and covered by a feint by 
Colonel Gordon, which drew two commandoes to 
Rondeval Drift, French with his cavalry division 
marched twenty-five miles, crossed Klip Drift on the 
Modder, and captured three of Cronje's laagers. 
Traversing the Boer line of communications, he then 
pressed right on to Kimberley, surprising the main 
laager and depot. The siege was raised, and French 
entered the city on the 15th with a loss of 20 men. 
Kimberley had not suffered very severely by the 

342 




a w 



Cronje at Bay 

investment, though several women and children had 
been killed by shell fire. 

Alarmed by this rapid countermarch, Cronje imme- 
diately evacuated his main positions at Magersfontein 
and Spyfontein, and retired to Koodoosrand Drift. 
One of his commandoes overtook and captured the 
convoy following French with supplies for Kimberley. 
But Roberts now set his entire command in motion. 
Jacobsdal was captured and occupied, Kelly-Kenny 
following hot on Cronje's heels, overtaking wagons 
and harassing his rear guard as he vainly strove to 
withdraw to the hills south of Bloemfontein. The 
path of the retreat was strewn with dead animals and 
abandoned wagons, and the Boer cattle were finally 
exhausted by the rapid pursuit. Tucker's division 
headed off the column on the east; the pursuing 
divisions were close behind, and batteries and cavalry 
had detoured and were hovering on the north. Too 
late Cronje found that the British could leave the 
railroad ; his disregard of Mareuil's advice had courted 
disaster, and on the 18th he found himself at bay. 

He laagered his wagons and prepared for a vigorous 
defence. Hasty breastworks were thrown up along 
the banks of the Modder River at Wolveskraal Drift, 
bomb-proofs were dug under the trees close to the 
water's edge, the pits being eighteen inches wide at 
the top and leading into excavations that gave effec- 
tive shelter from shells and bullets. For two days 
a fierce battle raged, the British losing heavily. But 

343 



In South Africa with Buller 

the cordon drew closer and closer around the doomed 
force. The Boers fought with the desperation of 
despair, and in their position they suffered no great 
loss, though their cattle were slaughtered in thou- 
sands and the laagered wagons were smashed to pieces 
and ignited by the continuous bombardment. 

The stench of dead horses soon made their warren 
intolerable, but the defence was sustained by Cronje, 
despite the entreaty of the burghers, driven to a 
frenzy by hunger and nausea. Lord Roberts sent in 
a flag of truce on the 20th to remove Boer women, 
children, and the wounded, but the brutal leader re- 
fused the offer with his accustomed grace. Cronje 
can boast the dogged pluck of a brute beast, but his 
style of heroism is not inspiring, and his career is not 
creditable, his bravery notwithstanding. 

The end came on the 28th. After ten days' resist- 
ance the dawn of Majuba Day was fixed for assault. 
The encompassed burghers had sustained a terrible 
Mauser fire that repulsed previous attempts to close 
in, but ere the sun rose the Canadian contingent 
squirmed through the grass to within 100 yards of 
the outer trenches. 

The French company under Major Pelletier were 
in the lead, when crashing volleys told them that their 
advance was discovered. Flinging themselves on 
their faces, the Canadians replied to this fire, suffer- 
ing severely, but never budging, while two yards 
behind them an heroic band of engineers under Kin- 

344 




TiCTOE AND VANQUISHED : THE MEETING OF LOED ROBEETS AND GENERAL CEONJE. 

Drawn hy F. de Haenen from a sketch by a British officer. 



Arrangements made for Surrender 

caid and Boileau dug a long trench, into which the 
Canadians withdrew. Despite the darkness, Kincaid 
had cut his line at an angle from which half of 
Cronje's position could be raked, and a few minutes 
after sunset Boers began to throw up their hands and 
run to the British lines to escape the rifle fire. 

An hour later a horseman rode out with a white flag, 
to arrange for unconditional surrender on the follow- 
ing morning. Having inflicted a loss of 98 officers 
and 1,436 men during his vigorous defence, Cronje 
and his command of 4,115 burghers then capitulated. 
Mrs. Cronje followed her husband to captivity, grimly- 
clinging to a black silk dress stolen from Lady Wil- 
son while a prisoner in the Mafeking laager. 

On March 5th Labuschagne was defeated by Bra- 
bant, Gatacre drove the Boers from the Stormbergen, 
and the "annexed" district again passed under Brit- 
ish rule. The commandoes concentrated at Poplar 
Grove, Presidents Kruger and Steyn came to the 
front from Bloemfontein with several fresh comman- 
does, and the burghers took up a strong position ex- 
tending fourteen miles across the Modder. On the 
7th the cavalry brigade turned the enemy's left flank, 
the 6th Division moved round the flank to menace the 
line of retreat, and the entire Boer army, seized 
with panic, fled in confusion. Kruger and Steyn 
strove to rally their forces, the latter lashing his Free 
Staters to hold them to the trenches, but the retreat 
was general, mounted infantry, cavalry, and horse 

345 



In South Africa with Buller 

batteries pressing the fleeing burghers to Abraham's 
Kraal, where the Z. A. R. P. commando under Van 
Dam arrived to make a plucky stand, checking the 
pursuit and enabling the scattered forces to reform 
behind them. 

The Boers then occupied a strong row of kopjes at 
Driefontein, fifteen miles east of Poplar Grove. 
Roberts attacked on March 10th the Welsh and Essex 
of the 6th Division storming the first line of defences 
and inflicting severe loss on the enemy. The cavalry 
again turned the flank and the Boers were routed, 
leaving 173 dead on the field. Repeated abuse of the 
white flag, and the use of explosive bullets during the 
battle led Lord Roberts, who twice witnessed the 
former, to protest against Boer methods of war. 

The disheartened burghers fell back to a strong 
position along the highroad to Bloemfontein. Rob- 
erts, however, led his army by forced marches around 
the flank, through Venter's Vlei, French's cavalry 
closing on the Free State capital on the evening 
of the 12th. Disconcerted at the rapid counter- 
march, and fearing their retreat would be cut off, 
the Boers evacuated their final position, and on the 
13th Mr. Frazer, Steyn's rival for the presidency and 
the head of the strong anti-war party in the Free 
State, met Lord Roberts on the outskirts of Bloem- 
fontein and formally surrendered the capital. Hun- 
dreds of burghers now surrendered and took the oath 
of allegiance. President Steyn, however, removed 

346 



Death of General Joubert 

the capital to Kroonstadt, where the Boers prepared 
to make the great stand of the war. President Kru- 
ger now decided that the Free State had forfeited its 
independence, and coolly annexed it to the Transvaal. 
This action made a wide breach between the allies, 
and hundreds of Free Staters returned home in dis- 
gust. Steyn refused to fight as a Transvaaler, and 
finally Kruger withdrew his proclamation. 

On the night of March 27, General Joubert, who 
had long been ailing, passed quietly away in Pre- 
toria. The death of the " Grand Old Man " of South 
Africa was an irreparable loss to the Transvaal cause. 
Incorruptible, liberal, and of sterling honesty, the 
commandant general represented all that is best in 
the Boer character. "Nature made him and then 
broke the mould." Though he adopted an uncom- 
promising attitude against the Raiders, his liberal 
views toward the Uitlanders during the early Reform 
movement lost him both his civil official position and 
his popularity inasmuch as in 1898 he secured less 
than one-third of the votes recorded for him in the 
previous presidential election in 1893. As Kipling 
said of him, — 

" With those that loosed the strife 
He had no part, whose hands were clear of gain ; " 

but he was a great patriot, ready to sacrifice all for 
his country. His military glory waned somewhat 
after his failure to take Ladysmith, and the brave old 
spirit was sorely tried by the petty bickering and 

347 



In South Africa with Buller 

jealousies dominating the affairs of the Transvaal. 
He gradually relaxed his hold on military affairs until 
the end, when Botha succeeded him — certainly the 
most worthy successor on the roster, and one whom 
we may hope to see Premier of the Transvaal under 
the new regime. 

While Roberts was re-mobilizing at Bloemfontein 
and Kitchener was again giving proof of his vast ad- 
ministrative ability by reorganizing the transport and 
equipping the ragged army to face the winter of the 
African uplands, Boer commandoes under De Wet 
swept down the southeast flank of the British, mov- 
ing against Colonel Broadwood and a small column 
occupying Thaba Nchu, forty miles east of the capital. 
Fearing to be cut off, the British commander retired 
to the Water Works, seventeen miles from Bloem- 
fontein, to which place the 9th division was at once 
despatched. 

Before the reinforcing column arrived De Wet 
attacked on three sides, and Broadwood decided to 
send his baggage, with Q and U Batteries, Horse 
Artillery, and the Mounted Infantry into the capital. 
To check anticipated reinforcements, and to cut off 
Broadwood' s retreat if defeated, De Wet had placed 
the Winburg, Moroka and Ladybrand burghers in a 
deep donga and along a spruit on the main road in 
the British rear. The Boers were greatly surprised 
to discover the convoy advancing leisurely into the 
trap at 4 a. m., en route to Bloemfontein. 

348 



British Fall into a Trap 

The advance guard was allowed to cross the water; 
the wagons, intersected with the batteries, were 
winding down the steep banks into the ford, when 
volleys were poured into them at close range. Gun- 
ners, troopers, and drivers were shot down ; horses 
and mules fell in writhing heaps. Five guns of U 
Battery were captured, but one team bolted when the 
drivers had been shot from the saddles, finally draw- 
ing up with their gun in the British lines. Q battery 
was further in rear and suffered less. Under a 
heavy fire, the surviving gunners manhandled four of 
the guns over the rocky veldt from the tangled mass 
of wagons and teams and commenced to heavily shell 
the Boers, keeping them at bay until reinforcements 
arrived and the pieces were safe. Of the entire 
convoy, however, 360 failed to answer to their names, 
killed and wounded constituting the greater number 
of "missing." 

Colville had left Bloemfontein at dawn to relieve 
Broadwood. Hearing the firing, the division marched 
the 17 miles at a rapid pace. Hector Macdonald's 
Highlanders, coming on the enemy in the main drift, 
forced them to abandon some of the wagons, but the 
bulk of the convoy with the captured guns had been 
sent to the rear, and before Dorrien's brigade could 
outflank the commandoes the captures had been 
despatched up country. After a stiff fight the Boers 
were beaten off, and retired to Brandfort. 

But Lemmer, Olivier, and Grobler, who had been 
349 



In South Africa with Buller 

retreating from the South, now joined De Wet. In- 
spirited by his victory, they combined forces, and 
swept along the southeastern border of the Free 
State, reoccupying the grain country, where hundreds 
of farmers had given up their arms and surrendered 
to the British. The fate of these burghers was ex- 
tremely hard. Of those who had the temerity to 
refuse to rejoin the Boers several were shot as traitors ; 
the others were sent to Pretoria, and in all cases 
homes and stock were looted and destroyed. Com- 
mandant-general Pretorius, who had surrendered, 
was seized by a troop of Zarps and sent to the Trans- 
vaal, where he has been condemned to what will 
prove life imprisonment to so aged a man. 

The commandoes swooped down on Reddersburg, 
forcing three companies each of the Royal Irish and 
9th Mounted Infantry to surrender after a plucky 
resistance of a day and night exposed to the fire of 
five guns. Gatacre's attempts to extricate these 
troops miscarried, and after this second failure he 
was recalled to England, his reputation marred by 
attempting great things with too small a force to even 
the chances of victory. 

Menacing the line of communications south of 
Bloemfontein, Olivier and De Wet now had 8,000 
men. Finding that the railroad was strongly occu- 
pied, they moved along the Basutoland border, invest- 
ing Wepener, with its garrison of Colonials under 
Dalgetty. From April 5th until the 28th, in roughly 

350 



Trap Laid for Boers 

constructed defences, this small force withstood suc- 
cessive assaults of a force ten times their superior, 
under continuous bombardment from five guns. 

With Dalgetty's force as a bait, Roberts rapidly- 
prepared a trap for the Boers in the interim. Run- 
die was ordered to Springfontein, Chermside, Gat- 
acre's successor, gathered his division at Bethanie, and 
Pole-Carew with the guards moved down to the Kaffir 
River. Dickson, with the 4th Cavalry brigade, and 
Dorrien's Infantry brigade, with an artillery division, 
then marched beyond Korn Spruit to cut off the 
retreat northward. 

The British advance was contested at all points by 
burghers swarming the kopjes, and ere the cordon 
could be completed to encircle Wepener, the com- 
mandoes hurriedly retired, hugging close to the 
Basutoland border. Superior mobility and knowledge 
of the country enabled the bulk of the Boer forces to 
get clear by skilful manoeuvres which could not be 
anticipated by the infantry encumbered with transport. 

Roberts had formed an advanced base at Karree 
Siding on the Pretoria railroad. With the southern 
districts clear of the enemy, he gathered in his divi- 
sions, and with machine-like precision, in an extended 
line, the centre resting on the railroad, he swept for- 
ward from the siding against the Boer positions on 
the Vet River. 

With French and the cavalry on the left, Hamil- 
ton, with the Mounted Infantry on the right and the 

351 



In South Africa with Buller 

7tli, 11th, and 9th divisions between them, Roberts' 
front covered twenty-five miles, and after a desultory 
affair of outposts, the Boers, rather than risk envel- 
opment, retired. 

Similar lines on the Zand and Valsch rivers, where 
the Boer intrenchments extended over a front of 
twenty miles, were occupied in a like manner, and 
despite the elaborate preparations for prolonged 
defence, Kroonstad, the second capital, was captured 
on May 12th. 

A large force of Free Staters, massed north of 
Ladybrand, had threatened the communications, but 
masking them with the divisions of Rundle and 
Brabant, Roberts had boldly pressed on, sustaining 
twenty miles a day, maintaining vigorous artillery 
duels, repairing bridges and culverts destroyed by 
the retiring enemy, and so rapidly outflanking them 
at every point that they were forced to retire after 
fierce but ineffectual struggles. Numbers told. How 
different might have been the story of Ladysmith had 
Buller been allotted sufficient men to assail the enemy 
on their entire front and at the same time envelop 
their flanks ! 

Roberts' army suffered some hardship, though the 
personal magnetism of "Bobs" soothes complaint, even 
of men forced to fight on a biscuit per day. But the 
matter of supply was very thoroughly solved, and the 
Army Service Corps worked stores from the railroad 
to the flanks and outlying commands in miraculous 

352 



Engagement with Boers on Western Border 

fashion. To sustain the system, 300 officers, 2,700 
bakers, butchers, and artificers, 7,000 native drivers, 
950 horses, 1,500 mules, 25,000 oxen, and 3,000 vehi- 
cles were constantly employed. 

During the month Buller had slowly swept the 
Boers from Natal, recapturing Dundee, and forcing 
the commandoes into their passes. They held a strong 
position on Laing's Nek, the scene of their old victory, 
but they were finally outflanked, and after a severe 
fight, were forced to retire. Clery's Engineers are 
now rapidly repairing the tunnel under the Nek. 
Buller occupies Wakkerstroom, and is in communica- 
tion with Roberts. With the railroad restored he 
should soon be able to advance west and join Roberts. 
If he can sustain connections and transport, however, 
he will despatch a flying column due north through 
Amersfoort and Ermelo, 120 miles, to hold the rail- 
road to Lorenzo Marques. This difficult movement 
will cut the Boers entirely from the outside world. 

On May 4th, Hunter and the 10th division engaged 
the Boers on the western border. Colonel Mahon, 
with a picked force of 1,600 mounted Colonials with 
four guns and supplies carried by packmules and 
light carts, secretly left Barkly West to relieve 
Mafeking. Making a detour, they passed rapidly 
northward to Kraaipan, where they had a severe but 
successful fight on the 13th. Continuing well to 
the west of the investing commandoes, on the 17th 
they joined hands with Colonel Plumer and his plucky 
23 353 



In South Africa with Buller 

Rhodesian command that had suffered severely in 
previous attempts to relieve Baden-Powell. 

Mafeking v^as in its last gasp. With little prepar- 
ation it had been forced to withstand one of the 
longest sieges in modern history. Many citizens bore 
arms, but with the police and guards the garrison only 
mustered 1,100. The investing commandoes had been 
strongly reinforced after the relief of Ladysmith. 
President Kruger, desirous of capturing at least one 
British garrison, despatched his nephew, Saret Eloff, 
with a picked column to carry the town at all haz- 
ards. At 4 A.M., on the 13th, Eloff, with 700 
burghers, crept up the bed of the Molopo River and 
succeeded in forcing a gap through the line of ema- 
ciated defenders. Two forts were rushed and the 
Boers gained a footing in the town, Eloff shouting 
to the citizens to surrender or face annihilation. 

But " Umhlala Panzi " was not to be thus surprised. 
As the Boers burned the Baralong quarter and occu- 
pied the fortified police barracks, he coolly sent for- 
ward the artillery under Major Panzera, detached by 
telephone, squadrons of the Protectorate regiment, 
the Rifl.es, and Cape Police from other points in the 
perimeter, and by a quick movement swept back the 
Boer supports, and filled in the gap with these troops. 
At sunrise the line of defences was intact, with Eloff 
and his picked force shut inside the town. 

I have seen Baden-Powell under trying circum- 
stances, before he had made a great name. He was 

354 



Baden-Powell 

never perturbed, and many officers said that if lie sur- 
vived the West African fever, he would one day be 
Commander-in-Chief. Tradition has it that the sol- 
dier spared by those pestiferous regions will survive 
all subsequent service. It was characteristic of the 
man to sit down to breakfast when he had cut off his 
foe, and send an invitation to Eloff to surrender and 
break biscuit with him. 

The young Boer declined the invitation until tea- 
time, when, finding that Snyman had abandoned 
him to his fate, he surrendered with his party, and 
Baden-Powell had to provide entertainment for 135 
uninvited but welcome guests of her Majesty. 

The extra mouths to feed tried the commissariat 
severely, but on May 16 a sudden cannonade and 
commotion in the Boer lines told the hopeless gar- 
rison that relief had come at last. Mahon and 
Plumer had a hard fight, but they were finally 
reinforced by some Canadian artillery, and a squadron 
of Queenslanders from Carrington's force that had 
landed at Beira and was advancing from the north. 

The Boers, 6,000 strong, were finally driven from 
the western kopjes, and Baden-Powell joined hands 
with the relief, his brother, a major of Mahon's 
staff, being the first to greet him. The combined 
forces after a brief rest moved out against Snyman, 
who had rallied his forces on the northern kopjes. 
But after a second fight, in which the seasoned irreg- 
ulars met the Boers with their own tactics, the Koofd- 

355 



In South Africa with Buller 

laager was stormed, the burghers were routed, and 
Snyman narrowly escaped capture. 

After the fall of Kroonstad President Steyn moved 
his capital and defence to Lindley. The Boers 
were demoralized, however, 600 Free Staters desert- 
ing and giving up their arms. A gramophone in the 
house of a Scotch Free Stater started to reproduce 
Sousa's band in the " Washington Post " on the even- 
ing of the 16th. The sound wafted through the 
open window was mistaken by some burghers as the 
military bands of the British in the distance; the 
alarm was given, and again the forces started to 
retire. 

A few of the more resolute manned the trenches, 
and on the following morning General Hamilton 
came up with his division, routed the burghers, and 
the unfortunate Steyn has been forced to admit the 
loss of his State. It was formally annexed to the 
Crown as the Orange River State on May 28, a very 
large number of the inhabitants celebrating the 
change of rule with acclamations, and hope for the 
future. 

Roberts continued his swift advance north, which 
parallels Sherman's march from Chattanooga to the 
sea, exceeding it in distance, equalling it in the 
number of troops on both sides, and the fighting re- 
treat of the retiring army. Military critics foretold 
certain disaster to Sherman : no less an authority than 
M. Bloch has pointed out the impossibility of the 

356 



British Flag Hoisted over the Rand 

British invasion. But Roberts celebrated the Queen's 
birthday by invading the Transvaal, French forcing 
a passage and flanking the Boers on the historic Vaal 
River, where they had prepared for a strenuous 
resistance. 

The young general, Ian Hamilton, now made a bril- 
liant move. As French forced the river on the west 
and the Boers massed to meet him, Hamilton's 
Mounted Infantry made a rapid countermarch on the 
east, occupying Heilbron and threatening the Boer 
rear. The burghers made a plucky fight, but were 
forced slowly northwest as Roberts came up with 
the main divisions in the centre, crossed the Vaal 
unopposed, and swept on to Johannesburg. 

Many of the Doppers had determined to destroy the 
mines. But Botha, Meyer, and other leaders, learn- 
ing that the British would respect private property, 
and having large interests at stake, strenuously 
opposed this measure ; and during the parley, while 
Hamilton and French were engaged on the west, the 
British appeared before the city, and it was peace- 
fully surrendered. 

On May 31st Lord Roberts entered the city, and at 
2 p. M. the British flag was formally hoisted over the 
Rand. It was greeted by the frantic cheers of the 
nondescripts in this Balnibarbi, the foundation of 
which may prove an eventual blessing to South 
Africa — an evil from which good may come. They 
also attempted to sing " God save the Queen " 

357 



In South Africa with Buller 

with the soldiers that a day before they had been 
reviling. 

Some old burghers were broken-hearted; two re- 
tained their cockades and refused to remove their hat;S. 
" Hats off ! " shouted certain craven city officials, 
anxious as the Vicar of Bray to gain favor of the 
conquerors ; and they attempted to remove the offend- 
ing headgear. Lord Roberts whispered two words to 
his staff officers, who roughly forced the officious 
renegades aside and took the now trembling Boers 
before the general. The crowd and they were visi- 
bly surprised when the old soldier shook them warmly 
by the hand, inquired where they were from, and 
promised to arrange for their wives and families to 
come into the lines. Both raised their hats when 
they left and felt a sudden respect for the rooineks. 

A wounded Boer artilleryman was hissed by the 
irresponsible scum, suddenly proclaiming themselves 
pro-British, and when he retaliated, he was roughly 
hustled. Two officers of the Guards, one a lord, 
drove back the crowd. "He is the enemy," yelled 
one who knew English. "Yes, who fought for his 
country, which you cowards never did," was the 
characteristic reply as the officers handed the gunner 
over to two soldiers with ten shillings to promote an 
Anglo-Boer alliance. 

Leaving the palatial hotels for others, Roberts estab- 
lished his headquarters in a little inn in the suburbs ; 
and while Johannesburg was celebrating its change of 

358 



Sandberg Asks for Armistice 

masters in noisy rowdyism, the general-in-chief sat 
with the innkeeper's baby-daughter on his knee, 
giving her a writing lesson, while another tot strutted 
around the sanded floor in the field marshal's hat 
and gloves. " Oh that all these English were like 
this! " soliloquized the Boer handmaiden in the hear- 
ing of a correspondent. 

Though President Kruger declared that Pretoria 
would be defended to the last, Botha was only able 
to retain enough burghers to fight a rear-guard action 
to cover the removal of specie, archives, and rolling- 
stock from the capital. 

On June 4th the Boers opened with several guns at 
long range as the British crossed Six Mile Spruit, and 
2,000 burghers fiercely contested the advance from a 
row of kopjes commanding the river. The British 
naval guns were moved forward so rapidly that the 
Boer artillery was silenced. The burghers then 
moved in between Roberts' left and centre, but after 
a hot fight Hamilton in turn outflanked them. French 
then swept round to the north of the capital, and 
the forces closed in. Outmanoeuvred at all points, 
the Boers galloped into the city with their field 
guns and escaped by train just before the cordon was 
completed. 

At midnight Sandberg rode into Roberts' head- 
quarters asking for an armistice and terms of surren- 
der. He was sent back with a demand of uncondi- 
tional capitulation. On the following morning the 

359 



In South Africa with Buller 

civil officials came out with a flag of truce and for- 
mally surrendered the town, and at 2 p. m. , June 5, 
the British flag waved once more over the Transvaal 
capital. 

Prior to the occupation, the last train from Preto- 
ria drew up at Waterval, where the British prisoners 
were confined. The soldiers, hearing of Roberts' 
approach, had determined to resist any attempt to 
remove them ; but when four unarmed Boer officials 
ordered them to prepare to return to the city, where 
they were to be given up, their suspicions were 
quieted, and 1,000 entered the empty train, which 
was run out of the siding and then steamed full- 
speed up country. French's approach stopped a 
further removal by this trick, which has enabled 
Kruger to hold an entire regiment as hostage. 

Boer cannon, arms, and tons of supplies had been 
moved to Lydenburg, which is now announced as the 
Transvaal capital. Here fertile valleys with thou- 
sands of cattle are enclosed in a series of volcanic 
ramparts and steep passes, which will give the Boers 
a practically impregnable refuge. 

At this time it is impossible to gauge the deter- 
mination of the burghers. Many of the extreme 
Doppers will probably never accept British rule, but 
since Mrs. Kruger, Mrs. Botha, and the wives of the 
prominent officials have remained in Pretoria, I be- 
lieve that the withdrawal to Lydenburg is a measure 
of defence rather than defiance. If the leaders are 

360 



Impossible to Gauge Burghers' Detefmination 

assured that they will not be exiled or sent into cap- 
tivity, I think that they will shortly surrender. 

Some of the farmers have decided to trek across 
Bechuanaland into German Southwest Africa. But 
the military governor, Major Luetwein, will hardly 
extend a welcome to them. His predecessor, Major 
Von Francois, after experiments in Boer emigration, 
was forced to exclude them in 1892, and has recently 
advised the German government against giving the 
burghers tracts of grazing land that Teutonic colon- 
ists have been so slow to take up. Both the Witbools 
and the Herrero tribe have declared that they will 
fight against the Boers if they trek into their 
domains ; and the German officials feel that while the 
Boer ideals will do little to develop the country, 
their treatment of the blacks will cause endless wars. 

Those who speak of transplanting the Boers in the 
United States forget that the burghers then will not 
only be under alien rule, but they will lose the privi- 
lege of Taal as an official language, — a concession 
promised by England to those who remain where they 
are. The Boers will find more opportunity of retain- 
mg phases of their nationality in South Africa than in 
any other country. The United States will hardly 
alter a constitution to suit a few irreconcilables who 
hate everything pertaining to the Anglo-Saxon and 
his language, and quasi independent alien communi- 
ties are not a valuable adjunct to the republic. 

There are many indications that the rising genera - 
361 



In South Africa with Buller 



tion of Boers will willingly accept the progressive 
conditions of the new era. Krugerism chiefly affects 
the older generation. As Mr. Poultney Bigelow 
aptly puts it, " Kruger is merely the outward mani- 
festation of a morbid state that has afflicted South 
Africa from the Cape to the Zambesi." There are 
two extremes : " Kruger, the retrograde cattle-herder, 
and the financial sharks of the Rand." But these 
cannot control the destiny of South Africa. While 
the one extreme attracted thousands of people to the 
country, where they were oppressed by the other, 
the removal of that oppression by no means strength- 
ens the hands of the capitalists. But it will enable 
all nationalities to become assimilated in a common 
country, and a vast self-governing colony or federa- 
tion will be the result. 

The war has surprised but has not yet staggered 
humanity. The losses have been rather heavy, and 
the cost high. During the first seven months of the 
war, to midnight of May 12, 1900, the losses were: 



Killed in action . . . 


227 officers 


2,111 men 


Died of wounds . . . 


58 


(( 


513 " 


Missing and prisoners (ex- 








cluding those recovered 








before this date) . . . 


168 


li 


4,291 " 


Died of disease .... 


75 


11 


2,417 '' 


Accidental deaths . . . 


1 


i( 


54 '' 


Wounded 


763 


(I 


10,063 " 


Total loss .... 


1,292 officers 


19,449 men 


362 







Cost of the War 

The operations against Pieter's Hill head the list 
with an aggregate loss of 113 officers, 1,782 men. 
Spion Kop cost 87 officers, 1,646 men. At Cronje's 
capture at Paardeberg the losses were 98 officers, 
1,436 men. Up to May 13, 480 officers and 8,421 
men had been invalided to England, some 2, 000 more 
were in hospitals in South Africa, and I roughly 
estimate that the loss covering the occupation of 
Pretoria aggregates 1,200, of which the proportion 
of killed is not heavy. 

The financial cost of the war should be carefully 
compared with the expenditure of the Spanish Amer- 
ican and Philippine wars. The supplemented army 
estimate for the year ending March 31, 1900, cover- 
ing the initial preparations and the first six months 
of war, the transfers from the Indian Establishment, 
the Reserve and Militia, and the Colonial Corps to 
the British establishment, until it reached 339,853 
men, 155,000 above normal strength, was £43,617,200. 
This was distributed as follows : — 

Pay of the army £9,909,000 

Medical establisliment 425,800 

Militia (pay, &c.) ..._... 1,071,000 
Yeomanry cavalry (pay and allowances) 80,000 

Volunteer corps 639,200 

Land and sea transport and purchase 

of remounts and transport animals 10,690,000 

Provisions, forage, &c 8,325,500 

Clothing 2,240,000 

363 



In South Africa with Buller 

Warlike and other stores .... 5,281,000 

Engineer services 1,461,900 

War office, maintenance, staff, cables, 

etc 258,300 

Extra surplus provided by original 

peace estimate for the year . . . 3,235,600 



£43,617,200 



A perusal of these figures will prove that, while 
the British soldier has had small cause for complaint, 
the interests of the British taxpayer have heen care- 
fully studied. Certainly in no war in history have 
more ample provisions been made for the army. 

If the people of the British empire, by legislation, 
will curtail the monopolies of financial magnates and 
aid their administrators to as carefully foster the 
colonial spirit in South Africa as in other great 
self-governing colonies, it will be safe to prophesy 
that the expenditure of blood and money will prove 
trivial for the good accruing. 

Salus populi suj)rema est lex. 



THE END 



364 



JUL 18 1900 



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